Barclays Raises Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $144.00

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

DGX has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet cut Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $134.26 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $146.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.23.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 28,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,617 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.