Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $300.00 price target on the medical research company's stock, up from their previous price target of $250.00. Citigroup's price target indicates a potential upside of 18.58% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on LH. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $268.38.

Remove Ads

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH traded down $1.07 on Tuesday, reaching $253.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 801,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,434. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $243.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.48.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $3,577,572 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 15,553 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares in the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $955,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,316,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

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.