Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $258.59 and last traded at $255.33, with a volume of 43681 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $256.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. UBS Group reduced their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.38.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $242.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.19.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. 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 payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.30, for a total transaction of $330,208.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,171 shares in the company, valued at $545,572.30. The trade was a 37.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders sold 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,449,757 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

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

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.