Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Increased to $265.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its target price hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $245.00 to $265.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LH. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $254.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $220.28 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $191.97 and a 52-week high of $238.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $223.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.61.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total value of $2,770,506.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,647,501.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,268,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 134.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 8,246 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,736 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $1,318,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 494,068 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $100,609,000 after acquiring an additional 99,912 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).