Mizuho Boosts Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $155.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target lifted by Mizuho from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial restated a hold rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.23. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $146.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 38.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 28,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $40,000. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.3% during the third quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the third quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 19,057 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.