Norges Bank Purchases New Position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 988,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,006,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.19% of Labcorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,361,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in Labcorp by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 170,730 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,833,000 after acquiring an additional 6,251 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Labcorp by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 15,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,949,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Labcorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at $27,291,053. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Labcorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.00.

Labcorp Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of LH stock opened at $257.27 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $263.08 and a 200-day moving average of $265.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $241.81 and a 12-month high of $293.72. The firm has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.90.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. Labcorp’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

About Labcorp

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp (NYSE: LH), is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp’s core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.