Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Increased to $289.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $282.00 to $289.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on LH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped 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 note on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $1.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $228.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 819,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,948. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $239.50. The company has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,069,000 after acquiring an additional 14,708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 141.3% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,462,000 after purchasing an additional 17,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $473,000. 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.