Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an in-line rating and a $165.00 price target on the medical research company's stock.
Several other research analysts also recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $154.33.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on DGX
Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %
Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $1.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $154.81. 569,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 964,231. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $145.30 and its 200 day moving average is $137.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $155.29.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.38%.
Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics
In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $479,357,000 after acquiring an additional 62,114 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $362,945,000 after acquiring an additional 18,533 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $327,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,665 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $288,758,000 after purchasing an additional 129,395 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Quest Diagnostics
(Get Free Report)
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.
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