Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,570,000 shares, a drop of 13.2% from the February 13th total of 2,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on DGX. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.38.

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Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd 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 boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 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 worth $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $166.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,437,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,072. The firm's fifty day moving average is $165.18 and its 200 day moving average is $158.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.