Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH Shares Sold by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management cut its Labcorp position by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,000 shares and leaving it with 99,750 shares worth about $25.0 million.
• Labcorp insiders also sold stock: CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares in May, and EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares in June, both under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• The company reported solid results and returned cash to shareholders, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a $0.72 quarterly dividend that annualizes to $2.88 per share for a 1.1% yield.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,750 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. Labcorp comprises 1.5% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned 0.12% of Labcorp worth $25,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,006,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,637,350 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $756,878,000 after purchasing an additional 440,224 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $604,488,000 after purchasing an additional 289,029 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,550 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $178,996,000 after purchasing an additional 275,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in Labcorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,208,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.89, for a total transaction of $201,084.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,212.57. This trade represents a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Labcorp Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $264.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.90. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $293.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $262.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.78.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio is 25.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 8th. 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Labcorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.00.

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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