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

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 14th, RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.00%.

Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend by an average of 8.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Quest Diagnostics has a payout ratio of 31.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $9.57 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 Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:DGX traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $149.84. 510,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,226. The company’s 50 day moving average is $142.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.64. The company has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $152.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.