Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $315.3333.

LH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th.

Labcorp Trading Up 2.0%

Labcorp stock opened at $296.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.89. Labcorp has a 1 year low of $244.52 and a 1 year high of $298.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $269.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.09.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Labcorp will post 18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,291,053. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.89, for a total value of $201,084.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,212.57. This trade represents a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,991 shares of company stock worth $1,796,696. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Labcorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Labcorp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 495,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,706 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Labcorp by 106.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 57,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,470,000 after purchasing an additional 29,899 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Labcorp by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,137,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $534,023,000 after purchasing an additional 13,775 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Labcorp by 121.0% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 37,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,630,000 after purchasing an additional 20,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Labcorp by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,974 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,011,000 after buying an additional 7,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, commonly known as Labcorp (NYSE: LH), is a global life sciences company that provides comprehensive clinical laboratory and drug development services. The company operates a broad network of laboratories, patient service centers and specialty testing sites to deliver diagnostic information and testing solutions that support patient care, clinical decision-making and population health initiatives.

Labcorp’s core businesses encompass clinical laboratory testing and pharmaceutical development services.