Insider Selling: Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) COO Sells 5,339 Shares of Stock

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,236,180.80. This represents a 51.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $254.31 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $242.77 and a 200-day moving average of $233.34. The firm has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LH shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.38.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,929,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 156.9% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,851,000 after purchasing an additional 15,582 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,461 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $481,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.