Labcorp (NYSE:LH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $316.86 and last traded at $313.4680, with a volume of 19410 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $313.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Labcorp from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Labcorp from $308.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Labcorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Labcorp from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.82.

Labcorp Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $280.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Labcorp (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.78 by $0.21. Labcorp had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 6.99%.The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Labcorp has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.100-18.550 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Labcorp Holdings Inc. will post 18.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Labcorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Labcorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Labcorp

In other Labcorp news, EVP Bryan T. Vaughn sold 234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.19, for a total transaction of $66,968.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,637.74. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Amy B. Summy sold 924 shares of Labcorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.74, for a total transaction of $283,427.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,683.44. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,915 shares of company stock worth $2,080,123. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. UBS Group AG increased its position in Labcorp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 495,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,320,000 after buying an additional 10,706 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Labcorp by 106.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 57,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,470,000 after buying an additional 29,899 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Labcorp by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,137,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $534,023,000 after buying an additional 13,775 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Labcorp by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,974 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,011,000 after acquiring an additional 7,592 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Labcorp by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,356,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,343,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,719,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.