Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $130.09, but opened at $135.00. Quest Diagnostics shares last traded at $135.14, with a volume of 289,912 shares.

The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.69 and its 200-day moving average is $131.08. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91.

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.