Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $161.30 and last traded at $161.30, with a volume of 857 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $159.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group raised 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5 %

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $153.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.73. 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 has a market capitalization of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 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.