Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. more than doubled its Labcorp stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 113.6% to 8,413 shares worth about $2.11 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and 95.94% of Labcorp’s stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Labcorp beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.25 EPS on revenue of $3.54 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 113.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,413 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 4,475 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Labcorp were worth $2,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 20.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,637,350 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $756,878,000 after purchasing an additional 440,224 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 15.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $604,488,000 after purchasing an additional 289,029 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 79.1% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,550 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $178,996,000 after purchasing an additional 275,454 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the third quarter valued at $75,208,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 598.1% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 287,146 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $82,428,000 after purchasing an additional 246,014 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the 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. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $734,782.89. This trade represents a 17.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,156 shares of company stock worth $4,095,496 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE LH opened at $258.91 on Wednesday. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month high of $293.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average price is $263.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. The firm's revenue 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, research analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio is 25.51%.

About Labcorp

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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