Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $154.33.

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $1,301,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,125 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 38.8% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 8,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $155.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

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.