Weitz Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Weitz Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 99,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. Labcorp accounts for 1.5% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $25,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Andra AP fonden increased its position in shares of Labcorp by 3,684.9% in the 4th quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 34,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,650,000 after purchasing an additional 33,569 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Labcorp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 22,807 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,722,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Labcorp by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in shares of Labcorp by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 70,151 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qtron Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $545,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LH shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Labcorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.00.

Labcorp Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE LH opened at $264.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $262.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. Labcorp’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 25.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.89, for a total transaction of $201,084.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,212.57. This represents a 16.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.