Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,200 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group cut its Labcorp stake by 69.5%, selling 13,200 shares in Q3 and leaving 5,800 shares valued at about $1.665 million.
• Brokerages are broadly constructive—Labcorp has a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $304.82, and several firms (JPMorgan, Baird, Morgan Stanley) recently raised ratings or price targets.
• Labcorp reported quarterly EPS of $4.07 (beat), revenue of $3.52B (slightly below estimates), set FY2026 guidance of 17.55–18.25 EPS, and declared a $0.72 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.88, ~1.1% yield).

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 69.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,800 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 13,200 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Labcorp were worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Labcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Motco bought a new position in Labcorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Labcorp by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Labcorp by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 122 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LH. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $304.82.

Labcorp Stock Performance

Labcorp stock opened at $270.27 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $272.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.01. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $209.38 and a fifty-two week high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 6.28%.The business's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio is 27.53%.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.31, for a total transaction of $429,465.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,619,935.17. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total transaction of $156,130.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,579 shares in the company, valued at $734,782.89. This represents a 17.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,113 shares of company stock worth $4,547,450. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Labcorp Company Profile

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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