Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 traded.

The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 37.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’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 value 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 $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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.