Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $216.5833.

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paradiem LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,652,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,517,000. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 209.6% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,765 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 346.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 19,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth approximately $5,757,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $202.62 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $213.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $194.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.86.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.01%.

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.