Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Labcorp stake by 22.8% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 69,305 shares valued at approximately $19.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.94% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with nine Buy ratings and three Holds and a consensus price target of $326.82. Several firms recently raised their targets, including JPMorgan to $360 and Truist to $350.
• Labcorp beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.99 in EPS and $3.73 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 5.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, equivalent to a 0.9% annualized yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 22.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,305 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 12,847 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of Labcorp worth $19,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at $991,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Labcorp by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 353,843 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $82,353,000 after acquiring an additional 121,304 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 2nd quarter worth $5,873,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Labcorp by 83.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 86,046 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $22,588,000 after acquiring an additional 39,087 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on LH shares. Barclays increased their target price on Labcorp from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $308.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Labcorp from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Labcorp from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $326.82.

Labcorp Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $318.73 on Monday. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $244.52 and a one year high of $319.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $280.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.87.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $4.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.78 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 6.99%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.35 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.100-18.550 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio is 23.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Labcorp

In other news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 924 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.74, for a total transaction of $283,427.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,683.44. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $66,968.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,637.74. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,012 shares of company stock valued at $577,810. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

About Labcorp

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp NYSE: LH, is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp's core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.

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