Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.6 %

LH opened at $246.18 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $236.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 15.96 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,613.38. This represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,383 shares of company stock worth $4,408,373 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.