Truist Financial Trims Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Target Price to $255.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price objective decreased by Truist Financial from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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 price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $244.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $243.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $198.40 on Friday. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $174.20 and a fifty-two week high of $234.09. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. 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 currently 57.95%.

Insider Activity at Laboratory Co. of America

In related news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the sale, 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 is accessible through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,398.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total value of $57,513.54. Following 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,305 shares of company stock worth $11,761,059. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,045,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,219,291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123,755 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 644.2% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 1,108,776 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,836.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 806,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $162,243,000 after acquiring an additional 786,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,212,497 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $444,821,000 after acquiring an additional 483,878 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).