Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives $255.92 Average PT from Analysts

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $255.92.

A number of brokerages have commented on LH. 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $227.10 on Thursday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $239.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $222.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.22.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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.