Laboratory Co. of America’s (LH) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $275.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $265.00.

LH has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.75.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $231.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $247.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $230.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.71%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $55,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% in 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 boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,768,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% during 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. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $5,955,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.