Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 3,872,414 shares, a decline of 18.8% from the February 12th total of 4,771,280 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 845,183 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 845,183 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $199.61 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $157.20 and a twelve month high of $213.50. The company has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.29 and a 200 day moving average of $186.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.31%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,137,724. This represents a 26.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,497,458,000 after purchasing an additional 140,450 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $934,033,000 after buying an additional 158,617 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $533,563,000 after buying an additional 208,261 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $467,415,000 after buying an additional 406,658 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.