Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given New $185.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $165.00 to $185.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.75.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $157.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $152.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.48. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $120.87 and a twelve month high of $159.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $245,000. Atwater Malick LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the first quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 54,749 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.6% during the first quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 20,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,725,000 after buying an additional 1,341 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.