Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $200.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Quest Diagnostics traded as high as $179.16 and last traded at $178.35, with a volume of 637661 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $176.68.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,407,000 after buying an additional 78,980 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 34,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after acquiring an additional 4,024 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.46%.

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.