Citigroup Raises Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $185.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $165.00 to $185.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.75.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $157.12 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $152.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $120.87 and a 1-year high of $159.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is 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.