Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Patrick Plewman Sells 958 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Patrick Plewman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 10th, Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.1%

DGX stock opened at $202.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $185.58 and its 200 day moving average is $183.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.04. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $157.20 and a one year high of $213.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.