StockNews.com Downgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to Hold

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $137.30 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $145.62. The company has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $138.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 242 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. 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.