Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $182.00 at Truist Financial

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $172.00 to $182.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $162.77 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $167.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $155.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.50. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 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.