Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Short Interest Down 13.2% in February

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,570,000 shares, a drop of 13.2% from the February 13th total of 2,960,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $166.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $125.42 and a 12-month high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.