Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs reissued a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a market perform rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.17. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $146.85. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.22%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other 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.