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

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LH. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH opened at $229.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.80 and a 200-day moving average of $234.69. The company has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. Laboratory Co. of America has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total transaction of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,365,624.58. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,577,572 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% in the fourth 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. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 354 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in 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.