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

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $243.14.

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $201.61 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $209.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $17.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.02. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at $426,436.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares in the company, valued at $426,436.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,985 shares of company stock worth $12,302,964 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.0% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 5.9% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 4.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,352,000 after buying an additional 2,423 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter valued at $349,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).