Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:DGX traded up $1.58 on Friday, reaching $153.10. 1,344,317 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 917,121. The company has a market capitalization of $17.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.74. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after buying an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.