Citigroup Inc. Sells 29,736 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 29,736 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Labcorp worth $18,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Labcorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motco bought a new position in Labcorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Labcorp by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 122 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Labcorp by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LH. Wall Street Zen raised Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Labcorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,273 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $1,499,535.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,343 shares in the company, valued at $24,838,602.34. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,948.44. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,860 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,267 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Stock Up 1.7%

LH stock opened at $287.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $267.77 and its 200 day moving average is $269.86. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.38 and a 1-year high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.53%.

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.