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

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.50.

Several analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $190.82 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $157.20 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.56%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,745.50. The trade was a 51.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,267,015.12. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 64,289 shares of company stock worth $12,318,360 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after buying an additional 2,132 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,768,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other 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.