Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $237.85 According to Brokerages

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $237.85.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $232.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $232.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $248.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $237.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,277 shares of company stock worth $8,316,493. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eastern Bank raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 207,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,413,000 after purchasing an additional 17,751 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,797 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,163,000 after buying an additional 6,767 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $226,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,535,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,508 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and other organizations diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions.

Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory tests, advanced and molecular diagnostics, anatomic pathology, genetic and genomic testing, and testing related to infectious diseases. Quest also provides employer health screening, drug testing, clinical trial support and laboratory information services.