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

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $235.3077.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of DGX opened at $244.48 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $247.19. The company has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.84.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.