Cardinal Capital Management Boosts Stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

Cardinal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,689 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Laboratory Co. of America comprises about 1.3% of Cardinal Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $8,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,935 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,718 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,421,000 after purchasing an additional 16,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 10,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,534,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Redburn Atlantic began 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $494,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,426,549. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $130,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,293,160. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,092 shares of company stock valued at $2,971,820. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.1%

LH opened at $263.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $241.51 and a 200 day moving average of $239.62. 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 12 month low of $198.07 and a 12 month high of $264.03. The firm has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.29%.

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.