Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $179.99 and last traded at $178.50, with a volume of 582362 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $170.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,124 shares of company stock worth $9,341,875. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $355,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $10,345,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 144,773 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,852,000 after acquiring an additional 15,475 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.