Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,771,280 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the January 29th total of 5,823,118 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,457,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,457,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,838 shares in the company, valued at $3,244,097.54. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $227,566.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,164 shares of company stock valued at $1,872,363 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded down $3.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $205.08. 97,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,034,954. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.66. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $157.20 and a 12 month high of $213.50.

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, 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 business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’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 will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

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.