Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $260.29 and last traded at $259.5840, with a volume of 42,577 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $258.44.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 12th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 12th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $240.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,714,510.56. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,241,886. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $13,715,017 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank OZK bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,247,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 67.3% during the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 25,173 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,122 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $6,485,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,965,923,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing. The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.