Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives $260.54 Consensus PT from Analysts

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $260.54.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LH. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,572 shares of company stock valued at $6,145,209 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $955,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,316,000. Banyan Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.4% in the second quarter. Banyan Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 620,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $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.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $238.44 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $234.80 and its 200 day moving average is $225.91. The firm has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.12, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.06. 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 has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a 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.