Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics reached a new 52-week high after JPMorgan raised its price target from $220 to $250, although it maintained a neutral rating. The stock traded as high as $240.13.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with six Buy ratings and seven Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Hold and the average price target is $233.25. Mizuho set the highest target at $260.
• Quest reported quarterly EPS of $3.12, beating estimates by $0.30, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $3.04 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86, equivalent to a 1.5% yield.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $250.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Quest Diagnostics traded as high as $240.13 and last traded at $235.2560, with a volume of 1611950 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.84.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $233.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Davis Selected Advisers raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,589,883 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $275,895,000 after purchasing an additional 228,271 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,024,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 178.7% during the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 171,987 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,847,000 after purchasing an additional 110,280 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 313,838 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $54,460,000 after buying an additional 16,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 460,725 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $79,950,000 after buying an additional 29,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

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.

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