Brokerages Set Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Target Price at $314.40

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $314.40.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LH. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Labcorp Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of LH stock opened at $281.85 on Friday. Labcorp has a 1 year low of $244.52 and a 1 year high of $293.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.63. The company has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.89.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.09 by $0.16. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 6.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-18.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Labcorp will post 18 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

Insider Transactions at Labcorp

In other news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total transaction of $66,968.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,637.74. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total transaction of $1,502,313.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,291,053. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,991 shares of company stock valued at $1,796,696. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Labcorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Labcorp by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,343,922,000 after buying an additional 2,719,475 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Labcorp during the 4th quarter valued at $480,271,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Labcorp in the 4th quarter valued at $248,006,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Labcorp by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,105,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $604,488,000 after acquiring an additional 289,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Labcorp by 79.1% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $178,996,000 after purchasing an additional 275,454 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.