Brokerages Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Target Price at $177.69

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $177.69.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 59,686 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,004,000 after acquiring an additional 3,840 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,723,000. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,002,379 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $151,219,000 after buying an additional 128,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $171.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $123.30 and a one year high of $172.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $156.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.57. The company has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.