California Public Employees Retirement System Has $52.08 Million Stock Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System cut its Labcorp stake by 8.6% in the first quarter, but still held 195,176 shares valued at about $52.1 million at quarter-end.
• Labcorp reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $4.25 EPS versus estimates of $4.09 and revenue of $3.54 billion versus expectations of $3.51 billion, with revenue up 5.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share and received mostly positive analyst attention, including price-target increases from Bank of America and Robert W. Baird, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 195,176 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 18,270 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.24% of Labcorp worth $52,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,850,631 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,471,326,000 after buying an additional 37,197 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,343,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,719,475 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,226,446 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $607,241,000 after acquiring an additional 22,170 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Labcorp by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,137,010 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $534,023,000 after acquiring an additional 13,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Labcorp by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $604,488,000 after acquiring an additional 289,029 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of LH opened at $280.86 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $241.81 and a 12-month high of $293.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $266.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.21.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 6.66%.The company's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In related news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the business's 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. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,991 shares of company stock worth $1,796,696 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.40.

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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