Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays began 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. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a market perform rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.25.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $137.55 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $148.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total transaction of $703,349.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,809,145.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.