Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

LH has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.85.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock opened at $215.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. 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 has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $238.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.00.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LH. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,616,000 after purchasing an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,519,000 after buying an additional 33,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $188,908,000 after buying an additional 196,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.