Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $297.32 and last traded at $296.8810, with a volume of 77534 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $281.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.33.

Labcorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $269.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.09. The stock has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.89.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 6.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is 25.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total value of $66,968.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,637.74. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.89, for a total value of $201,084.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,212.57. The trade was a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,991 shares of company stock worth $1,796,696 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Labcorp in the third quarter worth $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Labcorp Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp (NYSE: LH), is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp’s core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.