Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,215 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $2.17 on Thursday, reaching $252.20. The company had a trading volume of 704,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 636,607. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $236.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $192.38 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The firm has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 33.29%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,614,818.26. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,228,314.34. This trade represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,592 shares of company stock worth $2,841,820 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LH. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $276.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $272.92.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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