Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $174.00 at Mizuho

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price lifted by Mizuho from $160.00 to $174.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE DGX traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $158.16. 30,659 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,958. The stock has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $153.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.57. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.