Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Buys 320 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,678 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for 1.5% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.17% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $32,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $249,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 9,787 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,322 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $43,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $246.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $236.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.69. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,915,209. Company 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.