Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Trading 7.6% Higher Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) rose 7.6% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $237.53 and last traded at $236.57. Approximately 434,961 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 662,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.90.

The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Laboratory Co. of America's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.38 earnings per share.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.85.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,450. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,716,306 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 20,060 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,851 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,671,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the third quarter worth $208,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 43.3% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 172 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 12.4% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 12,514 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 4.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 46.29, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.47 and a 200 day moving average of $212.14.

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.