Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 7th

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of 0.80 per share by the medical research company on Monday, April 21st. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a 6.7% increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75.

Quest Diagnostics has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Quest Diagnostics has a dividend payout ratio of 30.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $10.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.5%.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $164.08 on Friday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.49. The stock has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised 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, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.57.

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.