Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $162.68 and last traded at $162.53, with a volume of 50749 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $160.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.54. The company has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.