Westpac Banking Corp Lowers Holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 97.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,940 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Labcorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,850,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,471,326,000 after purchasing an additional 37,197 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Labcorp by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,343,922,000 after buying an additional 2,719,475 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Labcorp by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,226,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $607,241,000 after buying an additional 22,170 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,137,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $534,023,000 after buying an additional 13,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 15.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $604,488,000 after buying an additional 289,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LH shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Labcorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Labcorp Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $296.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.89. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $244.52 and a 12 month high of $298.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $269.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.09.

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

Labcorp Announces Dividend

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

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.