Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $159.94 and last traded at $157.47, with a volume of 145830 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $157.47.

The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter worth $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $152.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.48.

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.