Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.58.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,481,000 after acquiring an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,966,000 after buying an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 892.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,177 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,819,000 after buying an additional 19,044 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $159.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

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.