William Blair Issues Negative Estimate for LH Earnings

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) – Analysts at William Blair decreased their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Laboratory Co. of America in a research note issued to investors on Monday, February 10th. William Blair analyst A. Brackmann now anticipates that the medical research company will earn $3.57 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.69. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $15.96 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Laboratory Co. of America’s Q3 2025 earnings at $4.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.23 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.00 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.01 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.33 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.44 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $4.52 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $17.30 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $271.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.31.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

LH opened at $245.31 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.55. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:LH) last released 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 net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 15.29%.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LH. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 86,026 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,232,000 after purchasing an additional 23,221 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 2,068 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,962.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 990 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,840 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,117,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $235,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $2,989,670. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,121 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.62, for a total transaction of $1,497,319.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,146,175.90. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,504 shares of company stock worth $5,905,692. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

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.