Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $172.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $145.00.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on DGX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $151.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $156.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.65. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.