Brokerages Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) PT at $235.31

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $235.3077.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% 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 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,585.30. The trade was a 13.41% 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. Insiders sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock valued at $3,947,088 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $244.34 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $219.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $245.68. The company has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.