Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.68 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $221.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.38. 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 has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LH has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.77.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,339 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.23, for a total transaction of $1,330,638.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,180.80. The trade was a 51.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,258 shares of company stock worth $3,518,177. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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 fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,000. Hedge funds and other 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.