Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

DGX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $152.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $156.76 and its 200 day moving average is $152.49. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $82,000. 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.