Laboratory Co. of America Holdings Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.72 (NYSE:LH)

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 8th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.72 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th.

Laboratory Co. of America has a payout ratio of 16.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Laboratory Co. of America to earn $17.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.4%.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.6 %

LH stock opened at $251.44 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.05. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 5.73%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,989,670. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,832 shares of company stock valued at $4,788,995. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $293.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.31.

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.