Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $189.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Mizuho from $178.00 to $189.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the medical research company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $2.85 on Wednesday, reaching $166.84. 702,831 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 951,725. The firm has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $168.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.96.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $404,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $342,300,000 after acquiring an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $191,823,000. 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.