Analysts Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Target Price at $147.15

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.15.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 63.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 709 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 863 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMC Financial Services LTD acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $436,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $138.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.86. The stock has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $145.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

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.