UBS Group Increases Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $146.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $139.00 to $146.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the topic of several other reports. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on 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. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Nine 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 a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $146.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 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.