Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Barclays currently has $210.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.27.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $186.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.64. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $157.20 and a twelve month high of $197.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.36 and a 200 day moving average of $180.53.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at $23,158,665.60. This trade represents a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.