Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) PT Raised to $146.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $139.00 to $146.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a market perform rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.25.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $137.55 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $148.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after purchasing an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after buying an additional 333,947 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.