Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given New $144.00 Price Target at Barclays

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price upped by Barclays from $138.00 to $144.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the subject of several other research reports. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $134.83. 246,448 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,053,414. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $128.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.11. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $146.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.