Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Rating Lowered to Hold at HSBC

HSBC downgraded shares of Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $260.00 price target on the medical research company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Labcorp from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Labcorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Barclays reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Labcorp from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $280.00 target price (up from $260.00) on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.38.

Labcorp Price Performance

NYSE:LH traded down $5.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $253.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,375,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,170. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $253.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.82. Labcorp has a one year low of $200.90 and a one year high of $265.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. Labcorp had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 5.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Labcorp will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.73, for a total value of $1,518,496.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,614,818.26. This represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total value of $200,833.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $497,602.04. This trade represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,834 shares of company stock worth $2,928,714 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 3,057.4% in the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,362 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,070,000 after buying an additional 37,147 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,533 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,830,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $713,000. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 119.2% in the 2nd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Labcorp 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.