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

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.58.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $161.94 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $155.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $165.32.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,665 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares during the period. 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.