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

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,550,000 shares, a decrease of 8.6% from the August 15th total of 2,790,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 844,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of DGX traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $155.39. 476,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 947,118. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

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.