Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 12th

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share by the medical research company on Wednesday, January 27th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 12th.

Quest Diagnostics has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Quest Diagnostics has a payout ratio of 32.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Quest Diagnostics to earn $11.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.9%.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $258.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.82. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $260.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total value of $292,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,241,886. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $13,715,017. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,965,923,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,151,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $151,986,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $133,388,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $124,180,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing. The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.