Analysts Set Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) PT at $260.54

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $260.54.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,572 shares of company stock worth $6,145,209. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $238.44 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The firm has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

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.