Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05, Zacks reports. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Laboratory Co. of America updated its FY 2025 guidance to 15.600-16.400 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.5 %

LH traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $245.14. 495,994 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 609,454. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $20.50 billion, a PE 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 two-hundred day moving average price of $229.99. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LH. Bank of America raised 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $265.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $239,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,383 shares of company stock valued at $4,408,373 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.