Key Points
- Quest Diagnostics SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares on June 4 at an average price of $200 each, totaling about $1.63 million. After the sale, he still held 13,510 shares, and the transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
- The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.50 versus the $2.37 consensus and revenue of $2.90 billion versus $2.83 billion expected. Revenue rose 9.2% year over year, and Quest updated its FY2026 EPS guidance to $10.63 to $10.83.
- Quest Diagnostics also highlighted shareholder returns, including a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share and a $1 billion share buyback authorization. The stock has received a mixed but generally constructive analyst view, with an average price target of $216.58.
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,629,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
NYSE:DGX opened at $197.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $194.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $164.65 and a fifty-two week high of $213.50.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.01%.
Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,497,458,000 after buying an additional 140,450 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $934,033,000 after purchasing an additional 158,617 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $467,415,000 after purchasing an additional 406,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $439,753,000 after purchasing an additional 582,797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.58.
View Our Latest Analysis on DGX
About Quest Diagnostics
(
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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