Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $250.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock.

LH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Friday, February 9th. They issued an in-line rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. TheStreet lowered Laboratory Co. of America from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Laboratory Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $222.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $243.50.

Laboratory Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:LH opened at $218.46 on Monday. Laboratory Co. of America has a 12 month low of $174.20 and a 12 month high of $234.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $219.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02.

Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.01. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.14 EPS. Laboratory Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 14.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,100,114.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total value of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mark S. Schroeder sold 5,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.45, for a total value of $1,102,735.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,100,114.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,775 shares of company stock worth $8,823,080 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,354 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 6.0% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,509 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $1,091,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 77.0% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,461 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,351,000 after buying an additional 24,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Laboratory Co. of America by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after buying an additional 6,186 shares during 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).