Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $210.2857.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $211.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $187.93 and a 200-day moving average of $184.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $157.20 and a 12 month high of $213.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,381 shares in the company, valued at $3,137,724. This trade represents a 26.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 1,433 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $293,521.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,402 shares in the company, valued at $14,010,781.66. This trade represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,164 shares of company stock valued at $1,872,363. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.