Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,223 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the quarter. Labcorp makes up 1.0% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC owned 0.13% of Labcorp worth $30,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in Labcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Labcorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Motco bought a new position in Labcorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Labcorp by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 122 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Labcorp

In related 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 value of $1,499,535.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,838,602.34. This represents a 5.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.42, for a total transaction of $25,266.54. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,860 shares of company stock worth $1,954,267. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Labcorp Stock Performance

LH opened at $287.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $267.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.86. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $209.38 and a 52-week high of $293.72.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 16.16%. Labcorp’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Labcorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.53%.

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.