Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 263,534 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 63,449 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.32% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $60,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,483,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE LH opened at $222.49 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $243.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 a total of 15,258 shares of company stock worth $3,753,177 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $276.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.38.

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.