Sector Gamma AS Acquires 6,486 Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Sector Gamma AS boosted its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 33.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,970 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,486 shares during the quarter. Labcorp accounts for approximately 1.8% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $7,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,879,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,593,395,000 after acquiring an additional 156,717 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,863,039 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,014,086,000 after purchasing an additional 36,003 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,113,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $552,445,000 after purchasing an additional 44,630 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,000,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $528,739,000 after purchasing an additional 43,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Labcorp by 28.2% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,829,039 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $476,995,000 after purchasing an additional 401,808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Labcorp stock opened at $266.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.00. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $209.38 and a 52-week high of $293.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.13 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.150-16.500 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. 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 1.1%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Labcorp from $291.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $313.00 price objective on Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Labcorp from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Labcorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,745 shares of the business’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 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 approximately $23,010,068.50. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richelle P. Parham sold 7,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total value of $1,782,248.52. Following the sale, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.