Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) PT Raised to $249.00

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Barclays from $213.00 to $249.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.54% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LH. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $261.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.43.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of LH stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $233.72. 394,663 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 717,666. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $204.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.45. The company has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.01, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.05. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $191.97 and a 12 month high of $238.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical research company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 3.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.83, for a total value of $421,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,448.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 313.2% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).