Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, an increase of 19.7% from the July 31st total of 2,330,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 873,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,242,000 after buying an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $234,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 80,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,113,000 after buying an additional 25,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on DGX
Quest Diagnostics Price Performance
NYSE DGX opened at $156.97 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $146.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.85. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $157.34. The company has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.
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.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Quest Diagnostics
- Breakout Stocks: What They Are and How to Identify Them
- The Solar Stock Battle: Is Daqo or JinkoSolar Your Next Big Win?
- Best Stocks Under $10.00
- Are These Chinese Stocks a Buy? Michael Burry’s Top Picks Say Yes
- Stock Trading Terms – Stock Terms Every Investor Needs to Know
- Five Below Stock Faces Challenges Despite Strong Revenue Growth
Receive News & Ratings for Quest Diagnostics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Quest Diagnostics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.