Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Shares Gap Up to $130.09

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $130.09, but opened at $135.00. Quest Diagnostics shares last traded at $135.14, with a volume of 289,912 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.18.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 5.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $128.32 and its 200 day moving average is $130.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 37.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $479,357,000 after buying an additional 62,114 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $362,945,000 after acquiring an additional 18,533 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $243,884,000 after acquiring an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,798,803 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $219,202,000 after acquiring an additional 92,542 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.