Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Makes New Investment in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 600,792 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,222,000. Labcorp makes up about 1.3% of Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor owned 0.73% of Labcorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Labcorp by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,343,922,000 after buying an additional 2,719,475 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Labcorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $480,271,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Labcorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,006,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Labcorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $142,125,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Labcorp by 15.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $604,488,000 after acquiring an additional 289,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $66,968.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,637.74. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 4,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.37, for a total transaction of $1,495,807.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,858,749.05. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 6,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,073,617 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Labcorp from $300.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Labcorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $352.00 price objective on Labcorp in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Labcorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.00.

Labcorp Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $318.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $286.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.87. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.52 and a fifty-two week high of $325.58.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.78 by $0.21. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 6.99%.The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.100-18.550 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.82%.

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.