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 report released on Thursday morning.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DGX opened at $155.29 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.75. 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 has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $160.95. The company has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.