Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2023 EPS estimates for Laboratory Co. of America in a research note issued on Wednesday, September 21st. Zacks Research analyst B. Das now anticipates that the medical research company will post earnings of $18.03 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $18.07. The consensus estimate for Laboratory Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $20.26 per share.
Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 28th. The medical research company reported $4.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.29. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 22.39%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.
LH has been the subject of several other reports. Argus downgraded shares of Laboratory Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 4th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America to $308.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a report on Monday, August 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.75.
Laboratory Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %
Shares of NYSE:LH opened at $211.66 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $240.28 and a 200-day moving average of $247.68. The company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.90. Laboratory Co. of America has a 52-week low of $208.62 and a 52-week high of $317.17.
Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Laboratory Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.78%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America
In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 32,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $8,151,474.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,245,002.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Glenn A. Eisenberg sold 32,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $8,151,474.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,245,002.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Peter J. Wilkinson sold 2,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.40, for a total transaction of $665,638.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,600.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Laboratory Co. of America
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LH. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Laboratory Co. of America by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,576,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,525,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302,369 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,582,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 3,972.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 895,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $209,854,000 after purchasing an additional 873,443 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 45.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,904,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,269,000 after purchasing an additional 598,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $309,000. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.
About Laboratory Co. of America
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a global 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 Labcorp Drug Development (DD).