Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael Prevoznik Sells 3,878 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,744,628.97. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $199.37 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share 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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research expects higher Q4/near-term earnings for Quest, which supports the company’s fundamentals and could be a near-term tailwind if results and guidance confirm those estimates. Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Quest Diagnostics
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity analysts have set/updated expectations for DGX Q4 earnings (consensus estimates being monitored ahead of the print); this keeps focus on results and guide as the primary near-term catalysts. Equities Analysts Set Expectations for DGX Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are driving implied volatility higher on DGX, indicating the market is pricing a larger-than-normal move around upcoming news (increases trading costs and can amplify share moves in either direction). Implied Volatility Surging for Quest Diagnostics Stock Options
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives completed sizable stock sales this week (SVPs and an EVP sold shares at ~ $204–$206 each). Combined disclosed sales total roughly $3.07M and represented single-digit to mid-teens percentage reductions in holdings — a negative signal that likely pressured the stock given concentration of selling among insiders. SEC Filing (Form 4) — Karthik Kuppusamy

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,497,458,000 after acquiring an additional 140,450 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $934,033,000 after purchasing an additional 158,617 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $533,563,000 after purchasing an additional 208,261 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 406,658 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

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.