Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 42,644 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 42,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,779,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.05% of Laboratory Co. of America at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LH. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $228.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $235.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.28. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

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.