Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 382,125 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,260,116 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 382,125 shares during the period. Labcorp comprises approximately 1.6% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $316,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Labcorp in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Labcorp in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Labcorp by 48.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Labcorp by 300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In related news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.31, for a total transaction of $429,465.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,619,935.17. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total value of $1,502,313.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,291,053. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 16,656 shares of company stock valued at $4,524,961 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Stock Down 0.7%

LH opened at $255.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $263.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.59. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.75 and a twelve month high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is 25.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Labcorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.00.

About Labcorp

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp (NYSE: LH), is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp’s core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.