Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.80

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.8%, payable on October 20th to investors of record on October 3rd.
• The company reported earnings of $2.62 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.2%.
• Institutional investors currently own 88.06% of Quest Diagnostics' stock, with several firms significantly increasing their stakes during the second quarter.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 13th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.80 per share by the medical research company on Monday, October 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Quest Diagnostics has a payout ratio of 30.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $10.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.5%.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $178.98. The company had a trading volume of 928,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,179,089. The stock has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.45. Quest Diagnostics has a 12-month low of $146.17 and a 12-month high of $182.38.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,014 shares of company stock worth $2,728,556. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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