Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $185.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.63% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on DGX. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE DGX opened at $176.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.02. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $178.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $164,896,000 after purchasing an additional 497,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $67,447,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.