StockNews.com Downgrades Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI raised Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $232.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $244.68 and a 200-day moving average of $234.78. The company has a market cap of $19.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.12. 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 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $258.59.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.63, for a total value of $127,815.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,365,624.58. The trade was a 3.66 % 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 6,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 owns 86,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,146,175.90. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,258 shares of company stock valued at $3,753,177 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LH. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,660.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.