Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) PT Raised to $144.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target upped by research analysts at Barclays from $138.00 to $144.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 7.25% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

DGX opened at $134.26 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $146.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, 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 transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after purchasing an additional 75,315 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.