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

Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $307.70.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Labcorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Labcorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.42, for a total transaction of $25,266.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,782 shares in the company, valued at $807,948.44. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.91, for a total transaction of $156,130.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,782.89. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,113 shares of company stock worth $4,547,450. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Labcorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Labcorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,850,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,471,326,000 after purchasing an additional 37,197 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Labcorp by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,343,922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719,475 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Labcorp by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,863,039 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,014,086,000 after purchasing an additional 36,003 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Labcorp by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,204,276 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $554,728,000 after purchasing an additional 207,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Labcorp by 0.6% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Labcorp Trading Up 2.2%

LH opened at $275.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Labcorp has a fifty-two week low of $209.38 and a fifty-two week high of $293.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $274.52 and its 200 day moving average is $268.89.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.12. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The company had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Labcorp will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.53%.

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.