Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $249.89 and last traded at $249.13, with a volume of 32820 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $246.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LH. Bank of America raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up previously from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.77.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $235.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.66. The company has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 48.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This represents a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,726,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,827,000 after purchasing an additional 25,469 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,197,000 after acquiring an additional 29,046 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $437,561,000 after acquiring an additional 13,298 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,930,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,405,000 after purchasing an additional 167,137 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.