Weitz Investment Management Inc. Sells 175 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Weitz Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,175 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America comprises approximately 2.8% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Laboratory Co. of America worth $54,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,811,000. Amundi raised its stake 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 worth $263,161,000 after buying an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $123,415,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% during the fourth 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. grew its holdings in 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 worth $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $232.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.86. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-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.

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 (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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LH. Barclays cut their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 lifted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.