Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,598 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $6,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.7% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $241,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,592. This represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,137,817.60. This trade represents a 4.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,058 shares of company stock valued at $4,845,585 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in 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 reduced their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.75.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $251.84 on Thursday. 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 Holdings has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $240.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.34. The stock has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07.

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, beating 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%. As a group, 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 firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

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.