Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells 5,662 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,137,724. This represents a 26.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.1%

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $207.12. 1,670,822 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,146,603. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $157.20 and a twelve month high of $213.20. The company has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.31 and a 200-day moving average of $181.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is currently 39.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.93.

More Quest Diagnostics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and outlook beat expectations — Quest reported better?than?expected Q4 revenue and EPS and set FY?2026 guidance that implies continued earnings growth, which helped push the stock to a 12?month high. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a $1.0 billion buyback (?4.7% of shares outstanding) — a sign management views the stock as undervalued and a near?term support for EPS and share price. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — Quest raised the quarterly payout to $0.86 (7.5% increase), which increases income appeal to dividend investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifting targets and reiterating buys — Mizuho raised its price target to $235 (outperform) and Barclays to $225 (overweight), signaling additional upside from current levels and reinforcing the bullish narrative. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Firm-level bullish coverage — Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy (citing margin expansion and high?margin segment growth), and Citigroup published a favorable forecast for strong price appreciation, adding institutional support. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO comments on Alzheimer’s blood testing — management highlighted long?term product opportunities (earlier diagnosis), which supports growth thesis but is longer?dated and execution?dependent. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and market commentary are available for deeper review — useful for investors wanting details on margin drivers and guidance assumptions. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and market pieces question sustainability of the rally — research notes (e.g., Zacks) examine whether fundamentals justify further multiple expansion; worth reviewing if sizing new positions. Article Title

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.