Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael Prevoznik Sells 22,677 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,130,482.27. This trade represents a 37.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $1.80 on Monday, hitting $240.96. 1,333,548 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,488. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $171.18 and a 12 month high of $247.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $287,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,599 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.31.

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.