Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) CEO Sells $6,602,115.86 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $164.08 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DGX. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.57.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 159.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,166,000 after purchasing an additional 16,958 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 625.8% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 27,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after purchasing an additional 23,832 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $109,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,698,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.