Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on DGX. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $160.17 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $162.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $153.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.73. The firm has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in 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 in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.