Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Now Covered by Analysts at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $195.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $167.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $167.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its 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 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $164,896,000 after purchasing an additional 497,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,447,000. 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.