Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on DGX. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $148.69.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $144.11 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $145.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $139.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.04.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 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.