Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Raised to $270.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

LH has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.62.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $226.97 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12-month low of $191.97 and a 12-month high of $247.99.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total value of $1,506,835.83. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. This trade represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total value of $241,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,592. This trade represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

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.