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

StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on DGX. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $162.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.01. 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 12-month low of $123.30 and a 12-month high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after buying an additional 61,469 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.