Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer Sells 1,482 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total transaction of $270,316.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,431 shares in the company, valued at $5,368,214.40. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $182.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $182.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 38.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 26.8% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,702,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,241 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Swmg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 59.7% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,556 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.