Michael E. Prevoznik Sells 528 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.66 and a twelve month high of $176.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $159.63 and its 200-day moving average is $156.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after buying an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,300,000 after buying an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.