Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Labcorp stake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 673,232 shares worth about $168.9 million. Institutional investors remain dominant owners, controlling 95.94% of the company.
• Labcorp insiders have been selling shares recently, including CEO Adam H. Schechter’s 5,903-share sale in May. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,156 shares worth $4.1 million, while insider ownership stands at 0.84%.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Labcorp after its latest earnings beat, which showed EPS of $4.25 versus the $4.09 estimate and revenue of $3.54 billion. The stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $308.00, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 673,232 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,349 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.81% of Labcorp worth $168,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Labcorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Labcorp by 300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total transaction of $156,130.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,782.89. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 15,156 shares of company stock valued at $4,095,496 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Labcorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.00.

Labcorp Price Performance

LH opened at $258.09 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $263.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.80. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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, analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

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

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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