Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $180.60 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.33.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of DGX opened at $163.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

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.