Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $152.40 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32. The company has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $157.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.