Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Increased to $249.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $234.00 to $249.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LH. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE LH traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $228.63. 819,212 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,948. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $239.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 54.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,519,000 after purchasing an additional 33,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $188,908,000 after buying an additional 196,119 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.