UBS Group Lowers Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $286.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $293.00 to $286.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $248.44 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $250.56. 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 company has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 48.05, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.66.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $241,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,592. This represents a 11.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 132.6% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 9,787 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by 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.