Analysts Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Target Price at $216.58

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $216.5833.

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,508 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 14,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,967,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,295 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 1,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,607 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $207.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.72. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $164.65 and a 52 week high of $219.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.01%.

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.