Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 475 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,888 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $31,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during 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. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $42,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of LH opened at $239.44 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.91. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The company has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LH. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.38.

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.