Robert W. Baird Cuts Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $244.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $255.00 to $244.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price indicates a potential upside of 22.98% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LH. TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective 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 objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE LH opened at $198.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $211.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.75. The company has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $174.20 and a 52-week high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LH. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $29,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $34,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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).