Analysts Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Price Target at $196.31

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $196.3125.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,453.04. This trade represents a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 38,118 shares of company stock valued at $7,127,684 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,233,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,556,777,000 after buying an additional 296,860 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after acquiring an additional 493,960 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,223,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $995,577,000 after acquiring an additional 38,931 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $533,563,000 after purchasing an additional 208,261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $191.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55. The firm has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $183.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

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.