Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $246.00 and last traded at $243.9570, with a volume of 837684 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $244.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $222.01 and its 200-day moving average is $206.46. The stock has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $376,288.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,585.30. This represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,747 shares of company stock worth $3,947,088. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.