Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $265.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $260.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $234.18 on Tuesday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

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. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.38 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction 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 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,572 shares of company stock valued at $6,145,209 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently 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.