Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LH opened at $251.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. 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 50-day moving average price of $241.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.64.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued 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 forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $545,572.30. This trade represents a 37.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total value of $56,590.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.