First Financial Group Corp Purchases Shares of 15,532 Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

First Financial Group Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,532 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,562,000. Laboratory Co. of America makes up about 3.9% of First Financial Group Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,483,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $239.80 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.38.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 in the last quarter. 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.