Barclays Cuts Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target to $213.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $234.00 to $213.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

LH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set an in-line rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $198.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.85. Laboratory Co. of America has a one year low of $174.20 and a one year high of $234.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.46 by $0.22. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.85 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.29, for a total transaction of $760,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $863,727.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Amy B. Summy sold 227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total transaction of $49,588.15. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 3,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,998.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 over the last quarter. Corporate 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 bought and sold shares of LH. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 14,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,407,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.94% of the company’s stock.

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).