Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.27.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $189.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $181.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.82. The company has a market cap of $21.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $150.14 and a one year high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,771 shares of company stock valued at $12,588,676. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.