Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Cut to $274.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Truist Financial from $285.00 to $274.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical research company's stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Three 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 data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $268.77.

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Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $2.03 on Friday, reaching $226.01. 591,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 690,452. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $239.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.95. The stock has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,228,314.34. The trade was a 12.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,236,180.80. This trade represents a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,003,998 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $458,334,000 after acquiring an additional 39,255 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $437,357,000 after purchasing an additional 51,045 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,822,964 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $418,042,000 after buying an additional 41,898 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,620,826 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $371,688,000 after acquiring an additional 34,429 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.