Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $181.33.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 26,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,987,000 after purchasing an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $163.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.