Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $32.13 Million Stock Position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 138,060 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,960 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $32,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LH. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $494,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,426,549. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,054 shares in the company, valued at $497,602.04. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,592 shares of company stock valued at $2,841,820 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LH opened at $253.92 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $192.38 and a 12 month high of $258.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $237.30 and its 200-day moving average is $238.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $276.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.92.

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.