Barclays Trims Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Target Price to $213.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $234.00 to $213.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on LH. Evercore ISI started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They set an in-line rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 2.9 %

LH stock opened at $204.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $211.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.90. Laboratory Co. of America has a twelve month low of $174.20 and a twelve month high of $234.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.08, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.20. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total transaction of $107,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,881.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Divincenzo sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.49, for a total value of $107,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,401 shares in the company, valued at $732,881.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 6,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total value of $1,407,387.33. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,272.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,407,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics (Dx) and Biopharma Laboratory Services (BLS).