Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) – What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $248.70.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, October 19th.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,714,510.56. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total value of $292,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,241,886. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $13,715,017. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $1,965,923,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after buying an additional 582,797 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $410,151,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $382,085,000 after acquiring an additional 17,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 942,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $199,743,000 after acquiring an additional 95,804 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $255.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.68. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $259.00. The firm has a market cap of $28.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing.

The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.

Quest Diagnostics traces its roots to a clinical laboratory established in 1967 and became an independent company in 1996 after being spun off from Corning.