Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.27.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of DGX opened at $184.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $153.99 and a 1 year high of $197.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.64.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This trade represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 64,289 shares of company stock worth $12,318,360 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.