Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Buys 13,388 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Smithbridge Asset Management more than doubled its position in Labcorp during the fourth quarter, buying 13,388 additional shares for a total stake of 26,538 shares worth about $6.66 million.
• Insider selling included CEO Adam H. Schechter and EVP Kathryn W. Kyle, both of whom sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Labcorp posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $308.

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 101.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,538 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,388 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in Labcorp were worth $6,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LH. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the fourth quarter worth $991,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 121,304 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the second quarter worth $5,873,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 39,087 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total value of $1,502,313.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,291,053. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LH. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.00.

Labcorp Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of LH stock opened at $268.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $293.72. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $262.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 1.90 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 the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. The company'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. On average, equities analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given 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 is Friday, May 29th. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.