Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $258.88 and last traded at $258.43, with a volume of 111012 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $255.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $276.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $253.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $274.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $21.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The medical research company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.11. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 758 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.67, for a total transaction of $175,605.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,314.34. This represents a 12.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.26, for a total transaction of $200,833.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $497,602.04. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,592 shares of company stock valued at $2,841,820 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,811,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,595,957 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $365,985,000 after buying an additional 959,981 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 344.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,123,409 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,161,000 after buying an additional 870,903 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 37,334.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 809,702 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $188,450,000 after buying an additional 807,539 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $123,415,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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.