Mizuho Raises 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 note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a market perform rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.17.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $146.85. The stock has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.09 and a 200 day moving average of $131.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.22%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 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.