Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) PT Raised to $166.00 at UBS Group

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $165.00 to $166.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $155.04 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $160.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.83. The stock has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 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.