Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates for Laboratory Co. of America (LH)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE: LH):

• 8/20/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 8/9/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 8/5/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Bank of America Co. from $240.00 to $260.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/2/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $261.00 to $277.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 8/2/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $220.00 to $230.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 8/2/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $213.00 to $249.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 8/2/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $260.00 to $270.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 8/2/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $255.00 to $275.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/9/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Evercore ISI from $210.00 to $215.00. They now have an “in-line” rating on the stock.
• 7/8/2024 – Laboratory Co. of America had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $258.00 to $261.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock traded up $1.23 on Thursday, reaching $230.06. The company had a trading volume of 164,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,175. The business’s 50-day moving average is $212.74 and its 200 day moving average is $210.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 46.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $238.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,563,000 after purchasing an additional 597,571 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,519,000 after acquiring an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $291,045,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).