Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $4.67 Million Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group boosted its Labcorp stake by 221.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 18,624 shares valued at about $4.67 million.
• Labcorp reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $4.25 versus $4.09 expected and revenue of $3.54 billion, up 5.8% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, payable June 11, which works out to an annualized yield of about 1.1%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 221.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,624 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,824 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Labcorp were worth $4,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth about $991,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 353,843 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $82,353,000 after buying an additional 121,304 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Labcorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,873,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 86,046 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $22,588,000 after buying an additional 39,087 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Labcorp Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $260.37 on Tuesday. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $239.75 and a 1 year high of $293.72. The stock has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.75 and a 200 day moving average of $265.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous 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, sell-side analysts expect that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp's payout ratio is 25.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.00.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total transaction of $156,130.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,782.89. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 8,705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.96, for a total transaction of $2,437,051.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,613,209.08. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,156 shares of company stock valued at $4,095,496 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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