Cannell & Spears LLC Buys 32,259 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Cannell & Spears LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 202,555 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,259 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC owned about 0.24% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $46,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LH. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $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 valued at about $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3,660.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $229.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.80 and a 200 day moving average of $234.69.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.92.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. The trade was a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.