Insider Selling: Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells $538,372.08 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total transaction of $538,372.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,523.26. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $199.37 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $157.20 and a 12 month high of $213.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.77.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 227,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,488,000 after buying an additional 14,361 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 380 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $333,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $527,000. Finally, Dean Capital Management boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 12,478 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research expects higher Q4/near-term earnings for Quest, which supports the company’s fundamentals and could be a near-term tailwind if results and guidance confirm those estimates. Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Quest Diagnostics
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity analysts have set/updated expectations for DGX Q4 earnings (consensus estimates being monitored ahead of the print); this keeps focus on results and guide as the primary near-term catalysts. Equities Analysts Set Expectations for DGX Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are driving implied volatility higher on DGX, indicating the market is pricing a larger-than-normal move around upcoming news (increases trading costs and can amplify share moves in either direction). Implied Volatility Surging for Quest Diagnostics Stock Options
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives completed sizable stock sales this week (SVPs and an EVP sold shares at ~ $204–$206 each). Combined disclosed sales total roughly $3.07M and represented single-digit to mid-teens percentage reductions in holdings — a negative signal that likely pressured the stock given concentration of selling among insiders. SEC Filing (Form 4) — Karthik Kuppusamy

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.