Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Shares Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s stock price rose 1.4% on Friday . The company 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.