Fore Capital LLC Invests $1.35 Million in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Fore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for 0.5% of Fore Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after purchasing an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $33,779,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 22.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 577,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $128,990,000 after acquiring an additional 105,443 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $236.69 on Thursday. 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 Holdings has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.33 and a 200-day moving average of $233.93.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.