Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $178.65 and last traded at $178.61, with a volume of 203936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,619 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.