Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,254 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,807 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,844 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,773 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.
Shares of LH stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $238.44. 702,644 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,791. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.12, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $247.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $234.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.76.
Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.
Several equities research analysts recently commented on LH shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $260.54.
Read Our Latest Research Report on LH
In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,572 shares of company stock worth $6,145,209. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.
Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.
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