Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Labcorp shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $309.95 and last trading at $308.56, compared with a 200-day average of $284.90.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with nine Buy ratings and three Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $337.73.
• Labcorp exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while offering a $0.72 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.9% annual yield; insiders have sold shares recently under pre-arranged trading plans.

Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $284.90 and traded as high as $309.95. Labcorp shares last traded at $308.56, with a volume of 611,084 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Labcorp from $300.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho set a $355.00 target price on Labcorp in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Labcorp from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Labcorp from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $352.00 price target on Labcorp in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Labcorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $337.73.

Labcorp Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $318.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.90. The firm has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.78 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 6.99%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.35 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.100-18.550 EPS. Analysts expect that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Labcorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Labcorp

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.02, for a total value of $954,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,087,165.26. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 4,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.37, for a total transaction of $1,495,807.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,858,749.05. This trade represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,919 shares of company stock valued at $2,826,593. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Labcorp by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,418 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Labcorp by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Labcorp by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Labcorp by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,719 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company's stock.

Labcorp Company Profile

Labcorp NYSE: LH, formally Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, is a global life sciences and laboratory services company headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina. The company provides diagnostic testing, drug development services and technology-enabled laboratory solutions to healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and consumers.

Its diagnostics business offers routine and specialty laboratory testing, including testing related to oncology, women's health, infectious diseases, genetics and genomics.

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