Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $162.68 and last traded at $162.53, with a volume of 50749 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $160.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $153.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.54.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % 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, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.