Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 33,261 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $8,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Labcorp by 20.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,637,350 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $756,878,000 after purchasing an additional 440,224 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in 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 worth $604,488,000 after purchasing an additional 289,029 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Labcorp by 79.1% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $178,996,000 after purchasing an additional 275,454 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in Labcorp during the third quarter worth approximately $75,208,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Labcorp by 598.1% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 287,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $82,428,000 after purchasing an additional 246,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total value of $156,130.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,579 shares in the company, valued at $734,782.89. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,234 shares in the company, valued at $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 16,656 shares of company stock worth $4,524,961 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LH. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.00.

Labcorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $252.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.91. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $239.75 and a one year high of $293.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $264.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.55. 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 (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 17.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

Labcorp Company 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.