Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. by 485.5% during Q1, acquiring an additional 63,931 shares, bringing its total holdings to 77,100 shares worth approximately $17.94 million.
• Labcorp reported $4.35 earnings per share for its last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, alongside a 9.6% year-over-year revenue increase to $3.53 billion.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share represents a 1.0% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 31.79%.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 485.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,100 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,931 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.09% of Labcorp worth $17,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,722,508 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,262,817,000 after acquiring an additional 71,464 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 2.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,957,319 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $455,370,000 after acquiring an additional 40,814 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,595,957 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $365,985,000 after acquiring an additional 959,981 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 28.9% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,421,112 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $330,750,000 after acquiring an additional 318,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,011,116 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $231,869,000 after acquiring an additional 9,802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.95, for a total transaction of $529,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,763,507.20. This represents a 23.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 8,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,426,480. This trade represents a 28.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,046 shares of company stock valued at $4,831,192. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Labcorp Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE LH traded up $1.4060 on Friday, hitting $277.9660. The stock had a trading volume of 483,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,104. The business's fifty day moving average price is $261.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $209.38 and a 52-week high of $283.47. The stock has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.78.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.14 by $0.21. Labcorp had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. The business'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. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $289.58.

Labcorp Profile

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