Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE DGX opened at $135.47 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $147.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.89 and a 200-day moving average of $131.11. The company has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’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 owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,153,000 after acquiring an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $479,357,000 after acquiring an additional 62,114 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $362,945,000 after acquiring an additional 18,533 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after acquiring an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,798,803 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $219,202,000 after acquiring an additional 92,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.