Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 69 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,917 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $854,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Investment CO boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. White Pine Investment CO now owns 19,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,264,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,329,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total value of $330,208.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,572.30. The trade was a 37.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,372 shares of company stock valued at $5,175,793 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE LH opened at $251.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $241.20 and its 200 day moving average is $232.70. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.75.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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