Citigroup Raises Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target to $145.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Citigroup from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.27% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.25.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.74. 871,816 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,054,811. The company has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.03. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $119.59 and a 1 year high of $148.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after purchasing an additional 75,315 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.