Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $146.17 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $146.17.

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. SVB Leerink started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,928 shares of company stock valued at $1,656,062. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after buying an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $141.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.03. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $145.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.