Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE DGX traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,725,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.42. 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 has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 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.