Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given New $178.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price boosted by Mizuho from $177.00 to $178.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $164.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.30 and a 1 year high of $167.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.42 and a 200 day moving average of $153.93.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.