Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Given New $213.00 Price Target at Barclays

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $234.00 to $213.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LH. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set an in-line rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH stock opened at $198.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.66. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $174.20 and a 52 week high of $234.09.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 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 Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,272.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,272.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LH. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,407,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).