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 note released on Sunday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on DGX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $209.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $23.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.22. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $157.20 and a fifty-two week high of $213.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 1,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $293,521.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,010,781.66. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $196,227.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,244,097.54. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,164 shares of company stock valued at $1,872,363. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $238,122,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 66,757.0% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 849,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $161,946,000 after acquiring an additional 848,481 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 256.5% in the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,072,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $193,090,000 after purchasing an additional 771,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $193,391,000 after purchasing an additional 450,161 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently 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.