Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Sets New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $166.39 and last traded at $166.58, with a volume of 265412 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $155.44.

The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 47,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,137,000 after buying an additional 17,470 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 44,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,850,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,006 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 2,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 4.3 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90.

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.