Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a market perform rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $134.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $146.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $129.09 and its 200-day moving average is $131.29.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for 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%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.22%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total value of $703,349.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,809,145.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors 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.