Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Makes New Investment in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,867 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,995,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 15,553 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 62,546 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $14,343,000 after acquiring an additional 24,357 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,806 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,937,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Mcrae Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,446 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $19,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 target price (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.00.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of LH traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $260.84. The company had a trading volume of 555,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,388. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $195.21 and a 1-year high of $263.59. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $239.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.34. The stock has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The firm's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $494,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,426,549. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $130,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,666 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,160. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,092 shares of company stock valued at $2,971,820. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.