Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $5.85 Million in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,496 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,847,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 22,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,061,000 after buying an additional 10,834 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 588 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,069 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 1,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 320,152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $73,417,000 after buying an additional 28,229 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of 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, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.3 %

LH opened at $239.63 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 moving average is $244.99 and its 200 day moving average is $234.21. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572. 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.