Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & Co. LLC reduced its Labcorp stake by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 96,636 shares and ending with 632,262 shares valued at about $158.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 95.94% of Labcorp shares. Several firms recently increased or initiated positions, including Goldman Sachs and First Trust Advisors.
• Labcorp reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $4.25 beating estimates and revenue of $3.54 billion topping expectations. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, implying a 1.1% yield.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 632,262 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 96,636 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.76% of Labcorp worth $158,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Labcorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $991,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Labcorp by 7.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Labcorp by 52.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 353,843 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $82,353,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Labcorp during the second quarter worth approximately $5,873,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Labcorp by 83.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 86,046 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $22,588,000 after purchasing an additional 39,087 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.89, for a total transaction of $201,084.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,006,212.57. This trade represents a 16.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,291,053. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Labcorp Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $265.45 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $262.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.77. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $293.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

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