Barclays Raises Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $249.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price raised by Barclays from $213.00 to $249.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $249.15.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded down $7.43 on Friday, reaching $228.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 935,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,723. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.37. The company has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total transaction of $421,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,448.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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).