UBS Group Boosts Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $166.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $165.00 to $166.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical research company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 6.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.75.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8 %

DGX stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.26. The stock had a trading volume of 339,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,393. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $120.87 and a one year high of $159.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $152.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.39. The company has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $327,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,665 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after purchasing an additional 129,395 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 681,636 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $90,733,000 after purchasing an additional 79,152 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 46.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 526,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 167,623 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.