Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) EVP Sells $293,521.39 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) EVP Catherine Doherty sold 1,433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $293,521.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 68,402 shares in the company, valued at $14,010,781.66. This trade represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $202.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $157.20 and a 12 month high of $213.20. The stock has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $185.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.76.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

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.