Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $175.89 and last traded at $173.99, with a volume of 1008385 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $172.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $158.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,792 shares of company stock valued at $465,998 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.