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

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $249.89 and last traded at $249.13, with a volume of 32820 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $246.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 48.10, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.36.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,915,209. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 132 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 309.8% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 107 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.