American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 921,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,162 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.10% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $211,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Amundi lifted its position in 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 valued at $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,415,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after acquiring an additional 230,708 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,779,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on LH shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.38.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $233.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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 quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.31.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

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.