National Pension Service Purchases 6,251 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Labcorp stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,251 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 170,730 shares valued at about $42.8 million.
• Labcorp’s recent earnings topped expectations, with Q1 EPS of $4.25 versus the $4.09 estimate and revenue of $3.54 billion, up 5.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds, giving the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.

National Pension Service boosted its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,730 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,251 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of Labcorp worth $42,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Labcorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,850,631 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,471,326,000 after acquiring an additional 37,197 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Labcorp by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,637,350 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $756,878,000 after acquiring an additional 440,224 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Labcorp by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,204,276 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $554,728,000 after acquiring an additional 207,962 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Labcorp by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,137,010 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $534,023,000 after acquiring an additional 13,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Labcorp by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $604,488,000 after acquiring an additional 289,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 8,705 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.96, for a total transaction of $2,437,051.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,613,209.08. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Labcorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.00.

Labcorp Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:LH opened at $260.21 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $263.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.87. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month 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 stock has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.90.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. Labcorp's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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