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

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $178.65 and last traded at $178.61, with a volume of 203936 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $175.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.88.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $164,896,000 after purchasing an additional 497,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $67,447,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.