Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH Stock: Cooke & Bieler LP Trims Stake

Key Points

• Cooke & Bieler LP cut its Labcorp stake by 26.7% in the third quarter, selling 178,537 shares and retaining 490,641 shares worth approximately $151.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.94% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view of Labcorp, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $337.73.
• Labcorp reported quarterly earnings and revenue above estimates, issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $18.10–$18.55, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, equivalent to a 0.9% yield.

Cooke & Bieler LP lowered its stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 490,641 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 178,537 shares during the quarter. Labcorp comprises approximately 2.3% of Cooke & Bieler LP's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 0.60% of Labcorp worth $151,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the third quarter worth about $275,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Labcorp by 3.3% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,064 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,252,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Labcorp by 73.7% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,912 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Labcorp by 355.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 21,921 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,754,000 after buying an additional 17,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Labcorp by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 80,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $24,661,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerrii Anderson sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.02, for a total transaction of $954,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,087,165.26. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Adam Schechter sold 4,669 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.37, for a total value of $1,495,807.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,858,749.05. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $2,733,295. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LH. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Labcorp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $308.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $355.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a report on Monday, August 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $337.73.

Labcorp Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE LH opened at $323.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $244.52 and a 52 week high of $341.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $320.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.33.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $4.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.100-18.550 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.82%.

Labcorp Company Profile

Labcorp NYSE: LH, formally Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, is a global life sciences and healthcare company headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina. The company provides laboratory testing and diagnostic services to physicians, hospitals, health systems, employers, insurers and consumers.

Through its diagnostics operations, Labcorp offers routine and specialty testing, oncology diagnostics, women's health testing, genetic testing, pathology services and other laboratory services.

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