Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Increased to $144.00 by Analysts at Barclays

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs restated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE DGX traded down $2.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $135.47. 1,016,096 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,063,713. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $147.96. The firm has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $128.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.11.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were paid 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 was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 37.92%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 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 $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.