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

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $177.69.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $168.97 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.13 and a 200-day moving average of $155.17. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.30 and a one year high of $171.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

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.