Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $134.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.09 and a 200 day moving average of $131.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $146.85.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total value of $316,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total value of $703,349.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,809,145.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $479,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,114 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $362,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,798,803 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $219,202,000 after purchasing an additional 92,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.