Truist Financial Boosts Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $182.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $172.00 to $182.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.18% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on DGX. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $163.69. 380,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,185. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $167.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares in the last quarter. 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.