Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Cut to $255.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH - Free Report) had its price target cut by Truist Financial from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on LH. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $234.00 to $213.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs reissued an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Four 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 stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $242.44.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LH traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.40. 931,285 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 758,681. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $212.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.69. The company has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.22. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Laboratory Co. of America's payout ratio is 61.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,872.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,045,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $446,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,755 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,280,884 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $257,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,776 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $162,243,000 after purchasing an additional 786,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $444,821,000 after purchasing an additional 483,878 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).