Barclays Cuts Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $260.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $271.00 to $260.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on LH. 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $246.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $236.67 and its 200-day moving average is $229.85. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $258.59.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,383 shares of company stock worth $4,408,373 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,827,000 after purchasing an additional 25,469 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,197,000 after buying an additional 29,046 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,561,000 after acquiring an additional 13,298 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 worth $431,405,000 after acquiring an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,916,505 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $437,357,000 after acquiring an additional 51,045 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.