Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Given New $260.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $250.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.41% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.08.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $246.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $248.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $233.26 and its 200 day moving average is $210.64. The firm has a market cap of $27.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total transaction of $5,513,005.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,130,482.27. This represents a 37.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,714,510.56. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 34,277 shares of company stock worth $8,316,493 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $1,965,923,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after purchasing an additional 582,797 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,085,000 after buying an additional 17,987 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $410,151,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $229,522,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing used to help diagnose, monitor and manage diseases and other health conditions, serving physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

Its services include routine blood and urine testing, advanced and esoteric diagnostics, molecular and genetic testing, anatomic pathology, cancer testing, drug screening and wellness-related assessments.