Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.75.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $157.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $120.87 and a 1 year high of $159.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.