Gary Pfeiffer Sells 1,482 Shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.40, for a total value of $270,316.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,214.40. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $182.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $148.70 and a 12 month high of $197.55. The company has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.09. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $388,724,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $238,122,000. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 256.5% during the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,072,721 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $193,090,000 after buying an additional 771,824 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,012,534,000 after buying an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $85,932,000 after buying an additional 433,764 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.31.

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.