Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Labcorp Holdings Inc. $LH

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) by 84.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,840 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Labcorp were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LH. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at $991,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Labcorp by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Labcorp by 52.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 353,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $82,353,000 after buying an additional 121,304 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Labcorp by 15.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Labcorp by 10.2% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 433 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.75, for a total transaction of $1,509,498.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,010,068.50. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richelle P. Parham sold 7,009 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 2,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,817.32. This represents a 73.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Labcorp Stock Up 2.7%

LH stock opened at $269.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00. Labcorp Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $209.38 and a 12 month high of $293.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.150-16.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Labcorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Labcorp from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $313.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Labcorp from $291.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Labcorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.