Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Reaches New 52-Week High at $151.98

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGXGet Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $151.98 and last traded at $150.91, with a volume of 32954 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $150.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.58.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGXGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during 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 buying an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $479,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,114 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $362,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after buying an additional 9,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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