Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $154.00 at Barclays

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $144.00 to $154.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $151.42.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $153.66 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $154.71. The firm has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Sivik Global Healthcare LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,136,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.