Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael Prevoznik Sells 1,111 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $227,566.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,859,531.93. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:DGX opened at $202.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $185.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted 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 net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a boost 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 is Monday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,497,458,000 after purchasing an additional 140,450 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $934,033,000 after buying an additional 158,617 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $533,563,000 after acquiring an additional 208,261 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,415,000 after acquiring an additional 406,658 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.