Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $185.73 Average PT from Analysts

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.73.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,620 shares of company stock worth $7,190,045 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,381 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 21,124 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,187,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $179.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $135.47 and a 52-week high of $182.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.46%.

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.