Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $265.31.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LH shares. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,722 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. Amundi raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $263,161,000 after acquiring an additional 870,903 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,415,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $416,893,000 after buying an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE LH traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $245.23. 408,960 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 602,028. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $236.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.24. The company has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio 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.