Paralel Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the fourth 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. lifted its position 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 valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in 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 acquiring 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% during 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 in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.38.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,314.34. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,236,180.80. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH stock traded down $2.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $227.86. 10,743 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 630,739. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year 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 cap of $19.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.80.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

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.