Earnest Partners LLC Sells 8,867 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter, currently holding 329,858 shares valued at approximately $76.77 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their investments in Labcorp, with notable increases including Ieq Capital LLC's 36% increase and Oak Harvest Investment Services' 102.2% increase in their stake.
• Labcorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72, which will be paid on September 11, representing an annual yield of 1.0%.

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 329,858 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,867 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.39% of Labcorp worth $76,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 3,903 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.42, for a total value of $1,059,352.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,274 shares in the company, valued at $617,209.08. The trade was a 63.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 2,000 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.95, for a total transaction of $529,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,763,507.20. This represents a 23.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,046 shares of company stock valued at $4,337,192. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $283.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. HSBC cut shares of Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $290.33.

Labcorp Stock Down 0.9%

Labcorp stock traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $275.39. The stock had a trading volume of 99,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,248. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.85. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $209.38 and a 12-month high of $283.47. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $263.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.43.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.49 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

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