Barclays Raises Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $249.00

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

LH has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of LH opened at $228.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of 46.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. 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 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $239.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 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.