Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 28,674 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its stake in Labcorp by 13.6%, selling 28,674 shares to hold 182,560 shares worth about $45.8 million (≈0.22% of the company) at quarter end.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive with several firms raising price targets (e.g., JPMorgan to $330, Piper Sandler to $300, Robert W. Baird to $326) and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $307.20.
• Company fundamentals and payouts: Labcorp beat Q4 EPS ($4.07 vs. $3.95), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 17.55–18.25, and announced a $0.72 quarterly dividend ($2.88 annual, 1.1% yield) payable June 11 (record May 29).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,560 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 28,674 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Labcorp worth $45,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 916 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 122 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 8,819 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,532,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 821 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Labcorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $307.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Labcorp news, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.42, for a total transaction of $25,266.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,948.44. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total value of $156,130.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,782.89. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,113 shares of company stock worth $4,547,450 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.6%

LH opened at $267.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $274.03 and a 200-day moving average of $268.47. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $209.38 and a 52 week high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 6.28%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp's payout ratio is presently 27.53%.

Labcorp 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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