Key Points
- Quest Diagnostics CEO J. Davis sold 10,000 shares on June 1 at an average price of $194.14, totaling about $1.94 million. The sale reduced his direct holdings by 7.02% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
- The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.50 versus $2.37 expected and revenue of $2.90 billion, up 9.2% year over year. Quest also raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to $10.63–$10.83.
- Quest Diagnostics has been active on capital returns, having approved a $1 billion share repurchase program and declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $216.58.
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) CEO J. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
DGX stock opened at $192.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.11. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50. The company has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.59.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 38.01%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have commented on DGX. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.
Read Our Latest Report on Quest Diagnostics
Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.
Quest Diagnostics Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.
Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.
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