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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $155.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $153.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.88. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. 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. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 129,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 438,977 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $68,144,000 after buying an additional 68,844 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.