Hershey Financial Advisers LLC Buys New Shares in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,682,000. Laboratory Co. of America makes up approximately 1.5% of Hershey Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Barclays lowered 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. Three investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.8 %

LH opened at $233.97 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. Analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total value of $1,330,638.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.