Analysts Set Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Price Target at $299.77

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $299.7692.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Labcorp from $291.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Truist Financial set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $313.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on Labcorp from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Labcorp from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th.

Labcorp Stock Performance

LH opened at $267.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.55. Labcorp has a 52-week low of $209.38 and a 52-week high of $293.72. The firm has a market cap of $22.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $260.48 and its 200-day moving average is $266.41.

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. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. Labcorp’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Labcorp will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Labcorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Labcorp by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 158,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,537,000 after purchasing an additional 11,262 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Labcorp by 224.1% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 989,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $259,734,000 after buying an additional 684,153 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 38,620 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,025,000 after buying an additional 4,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.