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

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $259.00 and last traded at $256.8530, with a volume of 27,349 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $255.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5%

The stock has a market cap of $28.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.93 and its 200-day moving average is $213.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,802 shares in the company, valued at $7,241,886. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,880 shares of company stock worth $8,232,534. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $46,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.