Analysts Set Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Target Price at $241.86

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $241.86.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total transaction of $498,360.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $426,436.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,448.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.33, for a total value of $498,360.87. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $426,436.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,939 shares of company stock worth $1,021,078. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $264,396,000 after buying an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165,528 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 63,639 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,103 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter valued at $1,418,000. Finally, Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $942,000. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.7 %

LH opened at $203.51 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $191.97 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.87. The firm has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.04.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).