Truist Financial Boosts Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $275.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective increased by Truist Financial from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

LH has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $258.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $249.15.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH traded down $6.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $229.66. 475,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 721,641. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $205.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,045,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after buying an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $352,563,000 after purchasing an additional 597,571 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. grew its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Investment Partners UK Ltd. now owns 1,140,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $259,133,000 after acquiring an additional 279,628 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2,750.2% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 270,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $61,478,000 after buying an additional 260,993 shares in the last quarter. 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).