Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on DGX. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $154.02 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.96. The stock has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.