Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $3.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 943,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,621. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 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.