Headlands Technologies LLC Purchases New Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 834 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in 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 raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the 4th 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 lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $222.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $243.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.90. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59. 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 company 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.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS 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%. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LH. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $276.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This trade represents a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,236,180.80. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.