Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $191.00 at Robert W. Baird

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $190.00 to $191.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,562 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 98.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 9,396 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 329,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $51,201,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 42,641 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,620,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.