Citigroup Downgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to Neutral

Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $185.00 target price on the medical research company's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.23.

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Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $3.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $175.49. 1,092,087 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,727. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.39. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $125.09 and a 52 week high of $178.09.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.