Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target boosted by Robert W. Baird from $190.00 to $191.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the medical research company’s stock.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE DGX opened at $166.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $164.88 and a 200 day moving average of $158.53. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is 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.