Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Free Report) - Leerink Partnrs cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Laboratory Co. of America in a report issued on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now forecasts that the medical research company will post earnings of $3.40 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.47. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America's current full-year earnings is $14.52 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America's Q2 2025 earnings at $4.05 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $4.16 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.16 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.21 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $17.28 EPS.
Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. Laboratory Co. of America's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.38 EPS.
Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $260.54.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on LH
Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance
Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $5.59 on Tuesday, hitting $235.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 658,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,220. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $234.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.97. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06.
Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.71%.
Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America
In related news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 3,265 shares in the last quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $955,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,316,000. Banyan Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Banyan Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,781 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $138,718,000 after purchasing an additional 65,356 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Laboratory Co. of America
(
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Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.
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