Barclays Boosts Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $168.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $154.00 to $168.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $155.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $160.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $153.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.75. The company has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. 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.