Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Stake in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,771,529 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 23,382 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $508,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LH. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Labcorp by 0.3% during the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,177 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,722,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 916 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Labcorp by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Labcorp by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 15,322 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its stake in Labcorp by 21.9% during the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 223 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.75, for a total value of $1,509,498.75. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richelle P. Parham sold 7,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $1,782,248.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,817.32. The trade was a 73.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Stock Down 1.1%

LH stock opened at $268.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $260.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $209.38 and a fifty-two 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.13 by $0.05. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial set a $320.00 target price on Labcorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Labcorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $313.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.77.

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.