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

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on DGX. SVB Leerink began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a market perform rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $134.26 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $146.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $83,070,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.