JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 586,017 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 30.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,344,378 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 586,017 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.61% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $308,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in 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 purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 3,660.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $229.75 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $244.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.69. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The stock has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 (DPR) is 32.65%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.