Royal Bank of Canada Raises Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 19.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 820,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 133,549 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $218,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth about $991,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 353,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $82,353,000 after acquiring an additional 121,304 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the second quarter worth approximately $5,873,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 83.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 86,046 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,588,000 after purchasing an additional 39,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Labcorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.33.

Labcorp Stock Performance

LH opened at $307.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $272.53 and its 200 day moving average is $270.29. 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 has a market cap of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.52 and a 12-month high of $315.77.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Labcorp’s payout ratio is presently 25.51%.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In related news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total transaction of $66,968.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,637.74. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 92 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $26,329.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,285.76. The trade was a 2.30% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 6,991 shares of company stock worth $1,796,696 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp 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.