Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $243.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LH shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. SVB Leerink started coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of 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.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 532.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,530,675 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $360,441,000 after buying an additional 1,288,574 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $291,045,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $257,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $162,243,000 after acquiring an additional 786,477 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

Laboratory Co. of America stock opened at $199.44 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $214.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.58. The stock has a market cap of $16.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

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).