Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells 2,628 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $538,372.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $4.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,055,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,341. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $157.20 and a twelve month high of $213.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.60.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 227,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,488,000 after purchasing an additional 14,361 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 119.7% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 380 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $527,000. Finally, Dean Capital Management increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 12,478 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.