Truist Financial Raises Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $182.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $172.00 to $182.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $162.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $155.40 and its 200-day moving average is $153.66. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.