Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) PT Raised to $265.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $245.00 to $265.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted 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 research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group increased 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $254.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.9 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $218.61 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $223.17 and its 200-day moving average is $211.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $238.46.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,450. 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 owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth approximately $2,268,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 134.9% during the second quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 8,246 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 4,736 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,318,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 494,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $100,609,000 after buying an additional 99,912 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).