Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given New $146.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $139.00 to $146.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a market perform rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $146.25.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $137.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $148.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.69 and a 200 day moving average of $131.08. The stock has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.