Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LH. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 132.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $249,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake 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 worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LH. HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

LH stock opened at $245.23 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.24. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its 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%. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

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.