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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on DGX. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0 %

DGX stock opened at $162.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.30 and a twelve month high of $167.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.07.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 795,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $122,528,000 after purchasing an additional 77,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after purchasing an additional 15,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.