Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) CAO Sells $2,889,207.75 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $159.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.60. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $160.95.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.