Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Rating Increased to Outperform at Evercore ISI

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $265.00 target price on the medical research company's stock, up from their previous target price of $260.00. Evercore ISI's price target points to a potential upside of 12.52% from the company's previous close.

LH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $262.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $282.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $260.54.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded up $5.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $235.51. 658,880 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 562,220. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $191.97 and a 1 year high of $247.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.55, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 15.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Adam H. Schechter sold 6,189 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,289,260.27. The trade was a 6.61 % 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 Dwight Gary Gilliland sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.00, for a total transaction of $241,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,592. This represents a 11.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,910,209 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LH. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 33,647 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,848,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $118,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $432,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,336 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 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.