Blueshift Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has taken a new position in Labcorp Holdings Inc., purchasing 1,811 shares valued at approximately $421,000 in the first quarter.
• Labcorp's CEO and other executives have sold substantial amounts of stock recently, with CEO Adam H. Schechter selling 6,105 shares worth over $1.5 million, resulting in a 5.81% decrease in his holdings.
• Labcorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72, equating to an annualized dividend of $2.88 and a yield of 1.1% for investors of record on August 28th.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,811 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $991,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 4,416 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,452 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Labcorp by 301.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 39,171 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,983,000 after purchasing an additional 29,414 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $283.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $289.58.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 2,000 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $494,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,426,549. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total value of $1,518,496.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,614,818.26. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,605 shares of company stock worth $3,784,897. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Labcorp Stock Up 0.5%

LH stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $261.34. 652,995 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,307. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $256.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.78. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $209.38 and a 52-week high of $283.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.14 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.49 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 5.66%. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.79%.

About Labcorp

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.