Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $178.23 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.23.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7 %

DGX opened at $172.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.41. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.