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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.75.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of DGX stock traded down $0.35 on Wednesday, hitting $157.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,445,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,787. The business has a 50 day moving average of $152.88 and a 200 day moving average of $144.48. The stock has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $120.87 and a 12-month high of $159.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently 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.

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