Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $274.00.

LH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $261.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $239.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.34. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $192.38 and a 1 year high of $262.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 33.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $130,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,666 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,160. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,314.34. This trade represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,092 shares of company stock valued at $2,971,820. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 88.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 140.4% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.