Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 4,780 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,780 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $8,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,966 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 64,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,102,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $719,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,909,000. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Labcorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Labcorp news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total transaction of $156,130.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,782.89. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,656 shares of company stock valued at $4,524,961. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:LH opened at $255.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.91. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.75 and a twelve month high of $293.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $263.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.59.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. Labcorp’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Labcorp’s payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

About Labcorp

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.