Catherine T. Doherty Sells 824 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $142,230.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,940,814.58. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.66 and a one year high of $176.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.