Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on DGX. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of DGX opened at $174.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $135.47 and a 52 week high of $179.99.

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

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,263 shares of company stock valued at $7,979,355 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.