J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Cuts Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 70.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,263 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,479 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $239,811,000. Amundi raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $263,161,000 after acquiring an additional 870,903 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth about $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $234,160,000 after purchasing an additional 380,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $3.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $232.76. 555,448 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 633,720. 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 $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.38. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $274.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued 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 an average price target of $268.77.

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.