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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.8 %

DGX stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $152.84. 622,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,403. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $165.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $156.76 and a 200-day moving average of $152.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.