Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on DGX. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded up $1.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $162.11. 890,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,964. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $153.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $162.72.

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

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction 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 represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 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.