Laboratory Co. of America Holdings Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.72 (NYSE:LH)

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 10th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.72 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%.

Laboratory Co. of America has a payout ratio of 16.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Laboratory Co. of America to earn $17.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.4%.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE LH traded down $2.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $227.71. 47,975 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 631,200. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $241.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.80. The company has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total value of $1,497,319.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.40, for a total transaction of $56,590.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,817.60. This represents a 4.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,177 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LH. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $276.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.38.

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.