Welch & Forbes LLC Buys 110 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,630 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LH. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $42,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their target price 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 note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.38.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,236,180.80. This represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total transaction of $330,208.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,171 shares in the company, valued at $545,572.30. The trade was a 37.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $253.00 on Friday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $243.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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