Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells $196,227.14 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $196,227.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,244,097.54. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Patrick Plewman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 10th, Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $202.28. 642,021 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,114,915. The firm has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.41. 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 announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid 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 yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 36.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True North Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.