Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Increased to $150.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $145.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a market perform rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $146.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.09 and its 200-day moving average is $131.23. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, 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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after purchasing an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.