Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Raised to Buy at HSBC

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at HSBC from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

LH has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.92.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $2.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $230.37. The stock had a trading volume of 308,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,365. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52 week low of $191.97 and a 52 week high of $239.50. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $222.68 and its 200 day moving average is $212.75. The stock has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kerrii B. Anderson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,679 shares of company stock valued at $6,946,306 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

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $327,616,000 after acquiring an additional 924,881 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $396,771,000 after acquiring an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $73,928,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 16.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,865,460 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $416,893,000 after purchasing an additional 263,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth about $45,567,000. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.