Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $253.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $216.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 43.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. 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 Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’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 $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,450. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $264,396,000 after acquiring an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% during 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 buying an additional 14,708 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 283.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 17,156 shares during the period. Finally, First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth about $1,418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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).