Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 28,584 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,332,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,584 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.63% of Labcorp worth $355,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LH. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Labcorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Labcorp Trading Down 0.8%

LH stock opened at $279.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.73. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $244.52 and a one year high of $293.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $267.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.41.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.84 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total value of $1,502,313.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,291,053. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $66,968.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,637.74. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,991 shares of company stock valued at $1,796,696. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.40.

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.