New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Sells 100 Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,827,000 after acquiring an additional 25,469 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,197,000 after acquiring an additional 29,046 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,561,000 after acquiring an additional 13,298 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,357,000 after acquiring an additional 51,045 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $246.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Holdings has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $237.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.14.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,504 shares of company stock worth $5,905,692. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.