Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Upgraded at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of LH opened at $227.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $222.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.14. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $239.50. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,679 shares of company stock worth $6,946,306 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors 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.