Analysts Set Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Price Target at $255.92

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $255.92.

LH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total value of $239,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $639,251.40. This trade represents a 27.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.91, for a total transaction of $877,277.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,613.38. The trade was a 45.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,861 shares of company stock valued at $2,853,533. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $27,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $242.18 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $226.97 and a 200-day moving average of $217.78. The firm has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 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 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

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.