Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Increases Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $249.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.07. 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 fifty day moving average price of $238.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.55. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,832 shares of company stock worth $4,788,995 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.