Northern Trust Corp Purchases 9,802 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,011,116 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 9,802 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.21% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $231,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total value of $330,208.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $545,572.30. This represents a 37.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,987 shares of company stock worth $4,171,895 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $246.40. The company had a trading volume of 129,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,133. The stock has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.82. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59. The business's 50 day moving average price is $234.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $280.00 price objective (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $274.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $269.38.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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