Mizuho Boosts Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $155.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price lifted by Mizuho from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a market perform rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.17. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $146.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently 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.