Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer Sells 1,203 Shares of Company Stock

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

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $2.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.51. 932,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 981,699. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $249.73. The company has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during 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 period. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 92.2% in the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 198 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $45,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, October 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.