Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $195.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $164.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.49. The company has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 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.