Barclays Trims Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Target Price to $234.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $249.00 to $234.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE LH opened at $216.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $238.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $223.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.56 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 issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. 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 is available through this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $352,563,000 after buying an additional 597,571 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $73,928,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth $45,567,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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.