Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $165.00 at Piper Sandler

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $150.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $155.93 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $160.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after buying an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. 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.