Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a market perform rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a hold rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $128.44 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.77. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $148.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.92%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

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

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 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.