Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given "Neutral" Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their neutral rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $180.00 price objective on the medical research company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $165.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $164.04. 479,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,012,058. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.18 and a twelve month high of $167.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $155.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.