Fairfield Bush & CO. Acquires 409 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Laboratory Co. of America accounts for about 1.5% of Fairfield Bush & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Fairfield Bush & CO.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,811,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,161,000 after buying an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $234,160,000 after acquiring an additional 380,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LH. Barclays dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $276.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $220.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $238.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.79.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total transaction of $330,208.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $545,572.30. The trade was a 37.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total transaction of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.