Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $330.00.

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $352.00 price target on Labcorp in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Labcorp from $308.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.74, for a total value of $283,427.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,683.44. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 4,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.37, for a total value of $1,495,807.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,858,749.05. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,073,617. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Labcorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the third quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Labcorp Stock Down 0.0%

LH opened at $318.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $286.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.72. Labcorp has a twelve month low of $244.52 and a twelve month high of $325.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.21. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.35 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.100-18.550 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Labcorp will post 18.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.82%.

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.