Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Should You Buy?

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $172.96 and last traded at $173.06. Approximately 375,428 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 915,253 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. 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 50-day moving average price of $168.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $164,896,000 after purchasing an additional 497,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,447,000. 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.