Analysts Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Target Price at $178.23

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.23.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $91,138.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $170.20 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $125.42 and a 52-week high of $178.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $163.56 and a 200 day moving average of $158.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.