Redburn Atlantic Initiates Coverage on Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)

Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $195.00 price target on the medical research company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.60.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.5 %

DGX traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $162.56. 984,901 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 924,758. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $168.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth about $268,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 159.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,615 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,166,000 after buying an additional 16,958 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 625.8% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 27,640 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,170,000 after acquiring an additional 23,832 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $109,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,698,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.