Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $240.39 and last traded at $239.49, with a volume of 473852 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $234.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LH shares. Barclays increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.53 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,156,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,273.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,043,950. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,978,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,197,000 after acquiring an additional 29,046 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,893,000 after acquiring an additional 263,105 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 924,881 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,519,000 after acquiring an additional 33,497 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 928,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $188,908,000 after acquiring an additional 196,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.