Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $210.2857.

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $588,729.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. This trade represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 in the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $238,122,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 66,757.0% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 849,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $161,946,000 after buying an additional 848,481 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $193,391,000 after acquiring an additional 450,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,932,000 after acquiring an additional 433,764 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $195.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $196.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.17. The company has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.31%.

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

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.