Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 185,847 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 47.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 579,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185,847 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $154,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Labcorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Labcorp Trading Up 3.7%

LH stock opened at $282.06 on Friday. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $241.81 and a twelve month high of $293.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.80.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its 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 firm 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 earned $3.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $66,968.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,637.74. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 92 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $26,329.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,117,285.76. This represents a 2.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders sold a total of 6,991 shares of company stock valued at $1,796,696 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Labcorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.40.

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.