Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $308.00.

LH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $334.00 price target on Labcorp in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Labcorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Labcorp in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Labcorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th.

Insider Activity at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,903 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.50, for a total value of $1,502,313.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,291,053. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kathryn W. Kyle sold 762 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.89, for a total transaction of $201,084.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,212.57. This represents a 16.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Labcorp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 495,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $124,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,706 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Labcorp by 98.6% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 10,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 5,116 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Labcorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,297,000. 8 Knots Management LLC increased its holdings in Labcorp by 96.6% in the 3rd quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 204,859 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,807,000 after buying an additional 100,675 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Labcorp by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 27,419 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,871,000 after buying an additional 9,231 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Labcorp Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Labcorp stock opened at $254.53 on Tuesday. 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 has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $260.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.40. Labcorp has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $293.72.

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

Labcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Labcorp’s payout ratio is presently 25.51%.

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.