Brokerages Set Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) PT at $241.86

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $241.86.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Finally, Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 33,493 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,715.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 175,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165,528 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,418,000. Finally, Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $942,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $202.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.09 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.25 and its 200 day moving average is $212.73. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given 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 payout ratio is currently 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).