Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Price

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective raised by Mizuho from $177.00 to $178.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Mizuho’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.64% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.77.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $162.35. The company had a trading volume of 255,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,013,742. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.18 and a twelve month high of $167.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $155.40 and its 200-day moving average is $153.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares during 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.