Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Patrick Plewman Sells 11,717 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Patrick Plewman sold 11,717 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.34, for a total transaction of $3,015,252.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,778,780.56. The trade was a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $259.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $262.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $240.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.21. The company has a market cap of $28.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 12th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank OZK acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $3,247,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 67.3% during the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 25,173 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,122 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,405 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,485,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,965,923,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on DGX. Wall Street Zen raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing. The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.