Barclays PLC Trims Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 5th, 2023

Barclays PLC decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) by 35.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 218,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 122,647 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.20% of Quest Diagnostics worth $30,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $157,412,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 548.7% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,125,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $149,673,000 after buying an additional 952,037 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,917,961,000 after purchasing an additional 636,301 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,101,000. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $148.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.90.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $135.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $138.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $120.40 and a 12 month high of $158.34. The company has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 8.37%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.34%.

About Quest Diagnostics

(Free Report)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.