Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) PT Raised to $165.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Piper Sandler from $150.00 to $165.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $155.92. 508,061 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 923,737. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.12 and a 200 day moving average of $144.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % 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. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the first quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 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.