Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Short Interest Down 8.6% in August

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics 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 value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics 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 value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was 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 directly 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started 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 target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 439,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 944,302. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.58. The company has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.93%. 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.