Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05, Zacks reports. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Laboratory Co. of America updated its FY 2025 guidance to 15.600-16.400 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $246.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.47. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $258.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $265.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total value of $877,277.52. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,915,209 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.