Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Shares Down 4.8%

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s stock price dropped 4.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $137.71 and last traded at $140.25. Approximately 668,849 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 980,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 4.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after buying an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.