Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $172.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $145.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $151.52 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.94 and a 200-day moving average of $150.65.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its 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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after purchasing an additional 61,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the period. 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.