Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $162.68 and last traded at $162.53, with a volume of 50749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $154.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.