Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 18,227 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 27.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,563 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,227 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.10% of Labcorp worth $24,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Labcorp by 166.6% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,477,000 after acquiring an additional 7,568 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 12.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 44,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,859,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 10,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 5,116 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 224.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 989,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $259,734,000 after purchasing an additional 684,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Price Performance

LH opened at $262.67 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $272.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.01. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $209.38 and a 52 week high of $293.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.12. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 6.28%.The company had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is 27.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total value of $156,130.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,579 shares in the company, valued at $734,782.89. This trade represents a 17.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.42, for a total transaction of $25,266.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,782 shares in the company, valued at $807,948.44. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,113 shares of company stock valued at $4,547,450. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Labcorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.82.

Labcorp Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp (NYSE: LH), is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp’s core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.