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

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $185.73.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,250 shares of company stock valued at $9,188,295. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,764,000 after acquiring an additional 73,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $342,300,000 after acquiring an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock opened at $176.56 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.