Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given New $178.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target upped by Mizuho from $177.00 to $178.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on DGX. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.77.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $162.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.18 and a 52 week high of $167.08.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 84 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.