Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on DGX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $172.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $144.87 and a 52-week high of $182.38. The firm has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $174.01 and its 200 day moving average is $170.41.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,784,484. This represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,353 shares of company stock worth $1,913,510 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 7,707 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 17,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,943,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,338 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.