Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $258.62.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. HSBC raised Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.47, for a total transaction of $1,506,835.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,289,260.27. The trade was 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 Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 96,596 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $21,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,837 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,519,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 92,930 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $20,768,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,847 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,776,000 after buying an additional 6,651 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $228.61. 996,890 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,601. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $247.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50 day moving average is $232.13 and its 200-day moving average is $221.38.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 3.43%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is presently 55.71%.

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.