Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $158.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Quest Diagnostics traded as high as $145.99 and last traded at $145.67, with a volume of 178487 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $144.11.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on DGX. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.31.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after buying an additional 75,315 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,796 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,562,000 after acquiring an additional 14,090 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 135,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,634,000 after purchasing an additional 7,415 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.04. The company has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

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.