Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Truist Financial from $172.00 to $182.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the medical research company's stock. Truist Financial's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.18% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on DGX. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.3 %

DGX traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $163.69. 380,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,185. The company's fifty day moving average price is $155.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 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.

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