Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shareholders Set to Receive $0.86 Quarterly Dividend

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

Quest Diagnostics has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Quest Diagnostics has a dividend payout ratio of 32.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 DGX traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $258.43. The stock had a trading volume of 107,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,066. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.44. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $260.29. The firm has a market cap of $28.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

About Quest Diagnostics

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.