California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,269 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 38,811 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $71,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LH. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in Labcorp during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Labcorp news, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 1,500 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.31, for a total value of $429,465.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,619,935.17. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 8,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.96, for a total value of $2,437,051.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,613,209.08. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,113 shares of company stock worth $4,547,450. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Labcorp Price Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $266.56 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $272.86 and its 200 day moving average is $269.79. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.38 and a 1-year high of $293.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $21.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. Research analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Labcorp’s payout ratio is 27.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Labcorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.82.

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.