Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Has $277.84 Million Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,211,314 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,246 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for about 5.0% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. owned about 1.45% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $277,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $955,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $2,316,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $138,718,000 after acquiring an additional 65,356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $241,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,592. This trade represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,504 shares of company stock worth $5,905,692 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:LH opened at $246.74 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.03. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.31.

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.