Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded at Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $174.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $169.00.

DGX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $154.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 42,432 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,808,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 31,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,264,000 after buying an additional 6,025 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.0% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 16.7% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 69,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,501,000 after acquiring an additional 9,925 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.