Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Price

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target hoisted by Truist Financial from $172.00 to $182.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on DGX. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.00.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $162.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $167.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $9,653,000 after acquiring an additional 61,469 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in 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.