Jefferies Financial Group Raises Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $265.00

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $213.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $254.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE LH opened at $218.61 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.99, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1-year low of $191.97 and a 1-year high of $238.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $223.17 and a 200-day moving average of $211.56.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total value of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.05, for a total transaction of $454,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at $7,008,423.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 25.4% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,949,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,771,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Laboratory Co. of America by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,613,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,563,000 after buying an additional 597,571 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 135.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,609,826 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,616,000 after buying an additional 924,881 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,417,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,519,000 after buying an additional 33,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,163,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $264,396,000 after acquiring an additional 33,493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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).