Key Points
- Quest Diagnostics SVP Mark Delaney sold 1,600 shares for approximately $376,288 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his direct ownership by 13.41% to 10,335 shares.
- The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $3.12 versus the $2.82 consensus and revenue of $3.04 billion, up 10.2% year over year.
- Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with six Buy ratings and seven Holds; the average price target is $235.31, near the stock’s $235.01 opening price, while Quest pays a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share.
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) SVP Mark Delaney sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $376,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,585.30. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4%
NYSE DGX opened at $235.01 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $166.75 and a 12 month high of $240.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $205.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.92. The stock has a market cap of $25.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 9.18%.Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 36.52%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Key Financial Inc raised its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $236.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.31.
View Our Latest Report on Quest Diagnostics
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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