Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of DGX opened at $137.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $130.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.83. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $145.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,910 shares of company stock valued at $2,159,602. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after acquiring an additional 75,315 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after acquiring an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 21,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. 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.