Brokerages Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Target Price at $210.29

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $210.2857.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after buying an additional 1,842 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,841 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,283,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23.4% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 34,598 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,215,000 after acquiring an additional 6,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 7.3% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 337,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,697,000 after acquiring an additional 23,100 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $197.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.67. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.57%.

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.