Brokerages Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) PT at $180.60

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.33.

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,218,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,690. The company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.92. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $421,000. Atwater Malick LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the first quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 56,648 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,585,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at $102,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.