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

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $249.73 and last traded at $244.6820, with a volume of 318,313 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $242.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 3.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $27.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $238.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,241,886. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total transaction of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,714,510.56. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 33,880 shares of company stock worth $8,232,534 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Bank OZK purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $3,247,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 4,334 shares during the period. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $6,485,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $1,965,923,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $4,702,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.