Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Increased to $165.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target hoisted by Truist Financial from $158.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an in-line rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $147.81 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $120.10 and a 12-month high of $159.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $46,342,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.