Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Rating Lowered by Citigroup

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $185.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.63% from the stock’s current price.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.3 %

DGX stock opened at $176.81 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $160.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.02. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $178.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $109,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,698,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,355 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.