Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.75 on April 22nd

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 1st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share by the medical research company on Monday, April 22nd. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71.

Quest Diagnostics has raised its dividend by an average of 8.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Quest Diagnostics has a dividend payout ratio of 31.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $9.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.9%.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.8 %

DGX opened at $132.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $148.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $127.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,917,961,000 after buying an additional 636,301 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,604,158 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $359,063,000 after acquiring an additional 396,447 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,514,577 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,286,000 after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 380.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $206,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,403 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,021,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $140,792,000 after purchasing an additional 93,963 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.18.

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.