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

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

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $156.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.40. The stock has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 0.00 % 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, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is 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.