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

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $250.82.

LH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.6 %

LH stock opened at $227.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.35. The company has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.68, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.06.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $25,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised 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 position in Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after buying an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165,528 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).