Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $210.2857.

Several brokerages recently commented on DGX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 1,433 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $293,521.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,010,781.66. This trade represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $227,566.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares in the company, valued at $7,859,531.93. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,164 shares of company stock worth $1,872,363 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of DGX opened at $204.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $191.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $157.20 and a 12-month high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 36.57%.

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.