Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) CEO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) CEO J. Davis sold 10,000 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.5%

DGX traded down $1.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $239.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,043,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,444. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $226.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.55. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $171.18 and a one year high of $247.19.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DGX. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Key Financial Inc raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.