Brokerages Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Price Target at $216.58

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $216.5833.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $203.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $164.65 and a 12 month high of $213.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 38.01%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was 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. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.