Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $165.00 at Piper Sandler

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective boosted by Piper Sandler from $150.00 to $165.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

DGX stock opened at $155.92 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $160.95. The company has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.