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

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $162.68 and last traded at $162.53, with a volume of 50749 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $160.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued 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 is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 55,846 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,670,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.3% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,991 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,795,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,167,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.