Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $258.62.

Several research firms recently weighed in on LH. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered 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.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $226.97 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $247.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $231.89 and its 200-day moving average is $221.14.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently 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.