Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $276.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 2.2 %

LH stock traded down $4.69 on Friday, hitting $212.43. 740,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,421. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $237.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.98. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total value of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,228,314.34. This trade represents a 12.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,483,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 920 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.