Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Shares Purchased by Natixis

Natixis raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,139 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LH. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $138,718,000 after purchasing an additional 65,356 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.0% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 25,597 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $5,955,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,776,000 after acquiring an additional 6,651 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $230.46. The stock had a trading volume of 462,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 633,244. 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 $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $234.95 and its 200 day moving average is $235.38. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total transaction of $175,605.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total value of $330,208.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $545,572.30. This represents a 37.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.77.

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.