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

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

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.75.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $157.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $152.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $120.87 and a 52 week high of $159.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,852 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.5% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 3,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $225,000. Courier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.7% during the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 4,999 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.