Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH) Trading 7.6% Higher After Earnings Beat

Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) shares were up 7.6% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $237.53 and last traded at $236.57. Approximately 434,961 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 662,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.90.

The medical research company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.38 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LH. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $249.00 to $234.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.85.

Insider Transactions at Laboratory Co. of America

In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $3,359,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,008,423.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lance Berberian sold 12,093 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $2,770,506.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,501.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,679 shares of company stock worth $6,716,306. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America during the first quarter worth $30,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 172.6% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 169 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 95.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Laboratory Co. of America Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $222.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.14.

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

Labcorp Holdings Inc provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services. The company offers various tests, such as blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid, PAP, hemoglobin A1C and vitamin D, prostate-specific antigens, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests.