Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

DGX has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $138.60 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $145.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.79. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd 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. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 79.3% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.