Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.75

by · The Markets Daily

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 14th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.75 per share by the medical research company on Monday, October 21st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th.

Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend by an average of 8.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Quest Diagnostics has a dividend payout ratio of 31.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $9.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.3%.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $154.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.44. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $120.10 and a 12-month high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.33.

Get Our Latest Research Report on DGX

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

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 transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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