Robert W. Baird Raises Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $289.00

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

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LH. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $228.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $239.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.44.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.