Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $5.85 Million Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 156.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,513 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,582 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $5,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,998 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $458,334,000 after buying an additional 39,255 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,405,000 after buying an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $437,357,000 after buying an additional 51,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $418,042,000 after buying an additional 41,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,620,826 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $371,688,000 after buying an additional 34,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,092 shares of company stock worth $2,475,635. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $276.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $272.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH traded up $1.87 on Friday, hitting $248.62. 1,185,977 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 638,858. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.36.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.29%.

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.