Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Cut to $234.00 by Analysts at Barclays

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:LH opened at $215.77 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $222.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $238.46.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 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 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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.