Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $265.31.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 24,504 shares of company stock valued at $5,905,692. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:LH opened at $246.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $237.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.66. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

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.