Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $197.27 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $197.2667.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,771 shares of company stock worth $12,588,676. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $995,577,000 after acquiring an additional 38,931 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $533,563,000 after acquiring an additional 208,261 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,907,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $363,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $174.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.61. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

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.