Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $202.28 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $185.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.68. The company has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $227,566.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,859,531.93. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total transaction of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. The trade was a 31.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,507 shares of company stock valued at $12,702,039. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dean Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 12,478 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 169.7% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 3,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 533.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 165,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,759,000 after acquiring an additional 139,582 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC now owns 19,402 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.