Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes for Laboratory Co. of America (LH)

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE: LH) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 2/10/2025 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $240.00 to $260.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 2/7/2025 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $271.00 to $260.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 2/7/2025 – Laboratory Co. of America was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 2/6/2025 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $275.00 to $290.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $249.00 to $271.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/28/2025 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $293.00 to $286.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 1/7/2025 – Laboratory Co. of America was upgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating. They now have a $265.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $260.00.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $2.22 during trading on Monday, hitting $252.07. The company had a trading volume of 252,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,512. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.82. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $258.59. The stock has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $241,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,592. The trade was a 11.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,832 shares of company stock worth $4,788,995. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LH. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,194 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Labcorp Holdings, Inc engages in providing medical testing services. The company was founded on April 16, 2024 and is headquartered in Burlington, NC.