Investment Analysts’ Recent 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:

• 10/30/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America was upgraded by analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating.
• 10/30/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America was upgraded by analysts at HSBC Holdings plc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 10/28/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $235.00 to $240.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 10/25/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $282.00 to $289.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/25/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 10/25/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $234.00 to $249.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 10/16/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $249.00 to $234.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 10/7/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 10/1/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America is now covered by analysts at Piper Sandler. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock.
• 9/24/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target lowered by analysts at Evercore ISI from $250.00 to $240.00. They now have an “in-line” rating on the stock.
• 9/23/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $245.00 to $265.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 9/20/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $278.00 to $282.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.7 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $246.01. The stock had a trading volume of 231,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,257. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a PE ratio of 47.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $247.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,189 shares of company stock valued at $5,550,786 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.