Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy Sells 2,555 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $164.08 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The company has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.57.

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.