Analysts Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Price Target at $164.58

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research 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 twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $164.58.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics 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 directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,180,000 after acquiring an additional 17,240 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 34,708 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,388,000 after buying an additional 4,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,004 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,719,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $1.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.23. 508,440 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 915,142. The business's 50-day moving average price is $156.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 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 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

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.