Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH Position Cut by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP reduced its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 205,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 279,196 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.25% of Labcorp worth $53,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Labcorp during the fourth quarter valued at $991,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Labcorp by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,916 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,635,000 after buying an additional 3,463 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 186.8% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 4,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.75, for a total value of $1,509,498.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 87,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,010,068.50. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richelle P. Parham sold 7,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $1,782,248.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,817.32. This represents a 73.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $267.76 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $209.38 and a 12 month high of $293.72. The company has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.31.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.13 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.21%.Labcorp’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.150-16.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LH. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial set a $320.00 target price on Labcorp in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Labcorp from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $291.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.07.

Labcorp Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.