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

Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $299.7692.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Labcorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho upped their price target on Labcorp from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Labcorp from $291.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Labcorp from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd.

Labcorp Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $266.72 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Labcorp has a 1 year low of $209.38 and a 1 year high of $293.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The medical research company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.13 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Labcorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.150-16.500 EPS. Analysts predict that Labcorp will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.75, for a total value of $1,509,498.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 87,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,010,068.50. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richelle P. Parham sold 7,009 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total value of $1,782,248.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,817.32. The trade was a 73.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LH. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Labcorp by 7.7% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 158,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,537,000 after acquiring an additional 11,262 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Labcorp by 224.1% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 989,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $259,734,000 after acquiring an additional 684,153 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Labcorp by 3.1% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,331 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Labcorp by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 38,620 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,025,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 77,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

About Labcorp

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.