Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives $164.58 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment 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.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $160.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $162.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $153.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’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 value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 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.