Insider Selling: Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Director Sells $292,329.00 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total value of $292,329.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,241,886. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $251.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $171.18 and a 52-week high of $256.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $238.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $1,965,923,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $410,151,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $151,986,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $133,388,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $124,180,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.