Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock: Insider Gary Pfeiffer Sells 1,203 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total value of $292,329.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,802 shares in the company, valued at $7,241,886. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 3.0%

DGX stock opened at $252.93 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $253.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.33 and its 200-day moving average is $211.67. The firm has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,965,923,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $439,753,000 after acquiring an additional 582,797 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,151,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,085,000 after acquiring an additional 17,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 942,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $199,743,000 after acquiring an additional 95,804 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.70.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.