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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $138.00 to $144.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently 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 current price.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $2.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $135.29. The company had a trading volume of 562,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,057,567. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.08. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $147.96. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 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.