Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $161.30 and last traded at $161.30, with a volume of 857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DGX. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 hyperlink. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,481,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after buying an additional 20,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 892.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,177 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,819,000 after acquiring an additional 19,044 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.