Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Price Target Lowered to $244.00 at Robert W. Baird

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective decreased by Robert W. Baird from $255.00 to $244.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on LH. Leerink Partnrs reissued an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an in-line rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

LH opened at $198.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $211.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.85. Laboratory Co. of America has a 1 year low of $174.20 and a 1 year high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical research company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Laboratory Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the business’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 owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,305 shares of company stock valued at $11,761,059 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LH. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,567 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $3,407,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently 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).