Montgomery Investment Management Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Montgomery Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $1,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,268 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 4,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 817 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 65,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,098,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $246.70 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.95. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.72, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

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.