Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $210.2857.

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $588,729.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. This represents a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,497,458,000 after purchasing an additional 140,450 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $934,033,000 after buying an additional 158,617 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $467,415,000 after buying an additional 406,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,548 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $335,204,000 after acquiring an additional 24,038 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2%

DGX stock opened at $195.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $196.65 and a 200-day moving average of $187.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $157.20 and a one year high of $213.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.31%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.