Woodline Partners LP Acquires 21,734 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,995 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,734 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.17% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $32,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LH. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $276.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.36, for a total value of $452,884.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,244 shares in the company, valued at $534,879.84. This represents a 45.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,971 shares of company stock valued at $4,193,073 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.69. 503,833 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 642,309. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The company's 50 day moving average is $234.19 and its 200 day moving average is $238.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.29%.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

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