Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Given New $271.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Free Report) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $262.00 to $271.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical research company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LH. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. HSBC upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.67.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of LH stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $232.01. 318,499 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 660,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a one year low of $191.97 and a one year high of $247.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $230.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.19.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 11,711 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.43, for a total transaction of $2,815,675.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,522,814.27. This represents a 27.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,572 shares of company stock worth $5,910,209. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,491,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 13.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,955 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.9% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 50,795 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1,128.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,793 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.