Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $274.00.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $276.00 price objective for the company.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.3%

LH stock traded down $0.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $260.84. The company had a trading volume of 555,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,368. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $239.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.34. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $192.38 and a 12 month high of $263.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $130,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,666 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,160. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian J. Caveney sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $494,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,426,549. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,092 shares of company stock valued at $2,971,820. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $991,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,268 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 132.6% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

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.