Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer Sells 1,203 Shares of Stock

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

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $245.51 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $171.18 and a fifty-two week high of $249.73. The stock has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $238.11 and a 200-day moving average of $211.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 9,724 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% in the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $534,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $471,000. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus set a $260.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.70.

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About Quest Diagnostics

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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.

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Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)

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