Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Given New $260.00 Price Target at Barclays

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $271.00 to $260.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $246.18 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.47. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. On average, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,161,000 after purchasing an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after buying an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $354,528,000 after acquiring an additional 230,708 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,779,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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