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 Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $149.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.9 %

DGX stock opened at $145.59 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.49. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $150.59. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,045 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 33,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 75.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 3,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Waterway Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,851 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.