Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Given New $290.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $275.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical research company's stock.

LH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock traded down $1.13 on Thursday, hitting $245.14. The company had a trading volume of 495,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,454. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $236.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,383 shares of company stock worth $4,408,373 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LH. Amundi boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in 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 period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,586,397 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $354,528,000 after buying an additional 230,708 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

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.