Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Receives $308.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $308.00.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 target price on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.42, for a total transaction of $25,266.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,948.44. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 8,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,773 shares in the company, valued at $22,613,209.08. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 16,113 shares of company stock valued at $4,547,450 in the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,343,922,000 after buying an additional 2,719,475 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Labcorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $480,271,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $248,006,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 15.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $604,488,000 after acquiring an additional 289,029 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 79.1% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $178,996,000 after purchasing an additional 275,454 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Price Performance

NYSE LH opened at $253.99 on Monday. Labcorp has a one year low of $239.67 and a one year high of $293.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $269.03 and a 200 day moving average of $266.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $20.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.91.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Labcorp will post 17.99 EPS for the current year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is 25.51%.

About Labcorp

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.