Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective lifted by Bank of America from $262.00 to $271.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LH. Barclays raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.67.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $232.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $191.97 and a fifty-two week high of $247.99. The stock has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $230.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.56.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,522,814.27. The trade was a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.42, for a total transaction of $239,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,251.40. The trade was a 27.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,837 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,768,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $5,955,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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.