StockNews.com Downgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to Hold

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

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $150.47 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value 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 represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at $82,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.