Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock traded down $1.56 on Friday, hitting $246.18. 588,360 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 613,994. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $236.56 and a 200 day moving average of $229.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,915,209 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 135,888 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,162,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 292,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $67,141,000 after purchasing an additional 8,687 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,544 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,240 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,807,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. 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.