Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. by 9.6%, now owning 350,933 shares valued at approximately $81.68 million.
• Labcorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.09% and a payout ratio of 31.79%.
• Recent analyst upgrades have seen price targets for Labcorp raised, with a consensus target of $285.00 and a rating of "Moderate Buy" from 10 analysts.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 350,933 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,781 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Labcorp worth $81,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Labcorp by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,998 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $458,334,000 after buying an additional 39,255 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Labcorp by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,957,319 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $455,370,000 after buying an additional 40,814 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Labcorp by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,620,826 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $371,688,000 after buying an additional 34,429 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in Labcorp by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,595,957 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $365,985,000 after buying an additional 959,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Labcorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,011,116 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $231,869,000 after purchasing an additional 9,802 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $282.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $283.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Labcorp Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE LH traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $261.34. The company had a trading volume of 652,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 851,657. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.38 and a 1-year high of $283.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $256.06 and a 200 day moving average of $245.49.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.14 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.49 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 5.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp's payout ratio is 31.79%.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total value of $1,518,496.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,962 shares in the company, valued at $24,614,818.26. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $980,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,426,480. This trade represents a 28.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,605 shares of company stock worth $3,784,897 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Labcorp Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.