National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 4.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 164,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,890 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $47,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Labcorp in the second quarter worth approximately $263,070,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Labcorp by 224.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 989,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,734,000 after buying an additional 684,153 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,829,039 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $476,995,000 after buying an additional 401,808 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 4,070.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 305,746 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,767,000 after buying an additional 298,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 402.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 348,096 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $91,379,000 after buying an additional 278,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.75, for a total transaction of $1,509,498.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,574 shares in the company, valued at $23,010,068.50. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Labcorp from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial set a $320.00 price objective on Labcorp in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Labcorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Labcorp from $291.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $313.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.77.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of LH stock opened at $270.28 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $261.21 and a 200 day moving average of $267.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.38 and a 1-year high of $293.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.03.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.29%.

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.