Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on DGX. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.25.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $137.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.69 and a 200-day moving average of $131.08. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $148.62. The company has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $479,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,114 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,798,803 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $219,202,000 after purchasing an additional 92,542 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.