Analysts Set Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Price Target at $243.50

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $243.50.

LH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 34,504 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.97, for a total transaction of $7,451,828.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,812.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Roundview Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.6% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 34,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,175,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 105.7% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,654 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 18.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 89,167 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,543,000 after buying an additional 14,186 shares during the period. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.3 %

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $199.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $214.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 61.67%.

About Laboratory Co. of America

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).