Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 185,847 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its Labcorp stake by 47.3% in the first quarter, buying 185,847 shares and bringing its total holdings to 579,036 shares valued at about $154.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with several analysts raising targets and ratings; the stock now carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.40.
• Labcorp reported solid results and a dividend, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while also announcing a $0.72 per share quarterly dividend payable September 11.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 47.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 579,036 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 185,847 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.70% of Labcorp worth $154,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the third quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Labcorp during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Labcorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.40.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total transaction of $66,968.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,930,637.74. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,291,053. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,991 shares of company stock valued at $1,796,696. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Labcorp Stock Performance

LH opened at $282.06 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.89. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.51%.

Labcorp Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.