Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Evercore ISI currently has $265.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $260.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LH. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of LH opened at $235.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.55, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $234.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.18.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total value of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LH. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the third 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. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors 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.