Brokerages Set Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) PT at $258.62

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $258.62.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LH. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $228.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. This trade represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 96,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,519,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,768,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after acquiring an additional 6,651 shares in the last quarter. 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.