Weitz Investment Management Inc. Sells 85,000 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH)

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management Inc. sold 85,000 shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc., reducing its stake by 36% and holding approximately 1.9% of the company after the sale.
• Labcorp recently announced a $0.72 quarterly dividend, which equates to an annual yield of 1.1% and reflects a payout ratio of 31.79%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Labcorp, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $289.58, with recent changes including a downgrade by HSBC from "buy" to "hold."

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 36.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,175 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 85,000 shares during the quarter. Labcorp accounts for 1.9% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Labcorp worth $35,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Labcorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,693,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Labcorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $991,000. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Labcorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,909,000. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in Labcorp by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 103,209 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $23,669,000 after acquiring an additional 12,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Labcorp by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,182 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $8,421,000 after acquiring an additional 16,574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Labcorp Stock Performance

LH traded up $6.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $266.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 289,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,634. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $209.38 and a 52 week high of $283.47. The company's 50-day moving average is $257.07 and its 200-day moving average is $246.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.78.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.14 by $0.21. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 5.66%. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp's payout ratio is 31.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LH. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Labcorp from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Labcorp from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Labcorp from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Labcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $289.58.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.95, for a total transaction of $529,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,763,507.20. This trade represents a 23.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $980,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,666 shares in the company, valued at $2,426,480. The trade was a 28.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,605 shares of company stock worth $3,784,897 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Labcorp 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.