Analysts Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Target Price at $177.69

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $177.69.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,792 shares of company stock valued at $465,998 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

DGX opened at $172.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.66 and a one year high of $172.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

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.