Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $235.3077.

Several equities research analysts have commented on DGX shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $233.21 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.58. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $166.76 and a 1-year high of $240.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% 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, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.