Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Bought by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 111.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,966 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,483,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,931,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,650,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 232 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of LH traded up $1.77 on Friday, hitting $253.92. 442,869 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 636,661. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $237.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.81. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $192.38 and a 1 year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 33.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 price target (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $272.92.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at $497,602.04. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total transaction of $1,518,496.65. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,592 shares of company stock valued at $2,841,820. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

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.