Brokerages Set Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Price Target at $144.18

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $146.17.

Several analysts have commented on DGX shares. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $134.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $129.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.23. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $146.85.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.22%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after purchasing an additional 75,315 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after acquiring an additional 333,947 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,327 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.