Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Now Covered by Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $276.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on LH. Citigroup upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $236.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $244.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.88. The firm has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total value of $330,208.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $545,572.30. This represents a 37.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,811,000. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 150.9% during the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,595,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $365,985,000 after purchasing an additional 959,981 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,161,000 after buying an additional 870,903 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $123,415,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,021,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $234,160,000 after buying an additional 380,624 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.