Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given New $190.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $176.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.46. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $135.35 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,250 shares of company stock worth $9,188,295. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $191,823,000. 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.