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

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 10th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.72 per share by the medical research company on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th.

Laboratory Co. of America has a dividend payout ratio of 18.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Laboratory Co. of America to earn $15.92 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 18.1%.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $239.67 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99. The stock has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.36, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $226.12 and its 200-day moving average is $217.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.