Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.75 on October 21st

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 14th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.75 per share by the medical research company on Monday, October 21st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th.

Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend by an average of 8.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Quest Diagnostics has a payout ratio of 31.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $9.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.3%.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $153.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.70 and a 200 day moving average of $142.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the 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 directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.