Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) Receives $300.75 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $304.4167.

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Labcorp from $313.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Labcorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $319.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th.

Labcorp Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE LH opened at $287.56 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.64. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.03. Labcorp has a 12-month low of $209.38 and a 12-month high of $293.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical research company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.56 billion. Labcorp had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.550-18.250 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Labcorp will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan C. Meltzer sold 87 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.42, for a total value of $25,266.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,782 shares in the company, valued at $807,948.44. This represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 5,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $1,499,535.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,838,602.34. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Labcorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $1,343,922,000 after buying an additional 2,719,475 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Labcorp in the fourth quarter worth about $480,271,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Labcorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $263,070,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Labcorp by 224.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 989,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $259,734,000 after acquiring an additional 684,153 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Labcorp by 4,070.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 305,746 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,767,000 after purchasing an additional 298,415 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.