Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,570,000 shares, a decline of 13.2% from the February 13th total of 2,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $166.42. 388,157 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,629. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.48. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $125.42 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $18.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.