Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP decreased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,846 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $245.31 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.55. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,504 shares of company stock valued at $5,905,692. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.