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

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

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $246.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $236.56 and its 200-day moving average is $229.47. 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 has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $258.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 37.0% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 86,026 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,232,000 after acquiring an additional 23,221 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1,962.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 990 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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.