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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $162.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $155.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.50. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after buying an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $109,933,000 after buying an additional 12,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.