Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on DGX. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $150.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.47. 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 twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, 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 transaction of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,621,000 after acquiring an additional 15,047 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.