Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) EVP Catherine Doherty sold 22,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.02, for a total transaction of $5,482,482.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 71,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,844,790.98. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Quest Diagnostics Price Performance
NYSE DGX opened at $254.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $239.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.35. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $171.18 and a 12-month high of $259.00.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 34.26%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 136.6% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 33,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,734,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.0% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 6,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $211,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 352.4% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, October 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.70.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Quest Diagnostics
About Quest Diagnostics
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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