Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Lowered to $240.00 at Evercore ISI

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $250.00 to $240.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “in-line” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on LH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of LH traded down $4.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $219.73. 147,703 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 680,717. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $238.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a PE ratio of 44.37, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $352,563,000 after acquiring an additional 597,571 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 valued at $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 33,497 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $264,396,000 after buying an additional 33,493 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).