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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Barclays from $138.00 to $144.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.44% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $2.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $135.29. 562,168 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,567. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.69 and its 200 day moving average is $131.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $147.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 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.