Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Short Interest Up 6.3% in December

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the December 15th total of 1,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 819,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $151.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $156.23 and a 200-day moving average of $152.83. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $478,000. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. True North Advisors LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $224,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,444 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 20,585 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.