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

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE DGX opened at $155.04 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $160.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.12 and a 200-day moving average of $144.83. The company has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a PE 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is 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.