Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Upgraded at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on 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. Piper Sandler increased 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. StockNews.com cut Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE LH opened at $227.10 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $222.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $239.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last released its 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 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 29,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,462,000 after acquiring an additional 17,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $473,000. 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.