BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Stock Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. by 27.1%, acquiring an additional 46,513 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 217,992 shares worth approximately $50.73 million.
• Labcorp reported earnings of $4.35 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $3.53 billion, which represents a 9.6% increase from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, scheduled for payment on September 11th, indicating a 1.0% annual yield.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,992 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,513 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.26% of Labcorp worth $50,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Labcorp by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 140.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LH. UBS Group upped their price target on Labcorp from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Labcorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 price target on Labcorp in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $290.33.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $980,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,426,480. This represents a 28.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.78, for a total value of $1,505,439.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,895,642.82. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,046 shares of company stock valued at $4,337,192 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Labcorp stock traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $273.49. 383,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 454,961. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $209.38 and a one year high of $283.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $263.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.77. The company has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.85.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.14 by $0.21. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 5.66%.The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.050-16.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio 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.