Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $255.92.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $241.03 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $227.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.62, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. This trade represents a 45.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,861 shares of company stock worth $2,853,533 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,768,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $5,955,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.