Stifel Financial Corp Grows Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 608,944 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,437 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.73% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $139,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $228.60. 907,300 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 632,302. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.30 and a 200 day moving average of $235.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased 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 research note on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $276.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $285.00 to $274.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.