Brokerages Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Target Price at $186.00

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $186.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE DGX opened at $179.67 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.90. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $146.17 and a 12-month high of $182.38. The stock has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 38.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,325. The trade was a 22.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,784,484. This trade represents a 43.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,728,556 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.