Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $154.33 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.33.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $153.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.46. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $159.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,472,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,342,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.