Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.60.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $164.53 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in 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 buying an additional 26,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $191,823,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.