Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $165.32 and last traded at $165.09, with a volume of 54117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on DGX. Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Get Our Latest Report on Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.79. The stock has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Quest Diagnostics

(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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