Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $250.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $234.84 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $166.76 and a 1 year high of $240.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $206.60 and its 200-day moving average is $199.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,497,458,000 after purchasing an additional 140,450 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $934,033,000 after buying an additional 158,617 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,415,000 after buying an additional 406,658 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after buying an additional 582,797 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.