Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LH. 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of 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. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $212.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $238.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $224.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.95. The stock has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a PE ratio of 42.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,563,000 after acquiring an additional 597,571 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $188,908,000 after purchasing an additional 196,119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).