Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $240.39 and last traded at $239.49, with a volume of 473852 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $234.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.30. The stock has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,000 shares of company stock worth $4,043,950 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,934 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 17.0% in the first 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 stake in 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 valued at $5,072,000 after buying an additional 17,156 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $473,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 18.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 150,046 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,802,000 after buying an additional 23,860 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.