Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Director Gary Pfeiffer Sells 1,203 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 Quest Diagnostics shares at an average price of $243, generating $292,329. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, leaving him with 29,802 shares.
• Quest Diagnostics reported quarterly EPS of $3.00, exceeding estimates of $2.87, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $3.10 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, representing a 1.4% annualized yield.
• Shares recently traded at $245.51, near the 52-week high of $249.73, and analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $248.70. Institutional investors own approximately 88.06% of the company.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) Director Gary Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total value of $292,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,241,886. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $2.95 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $245.51. 932,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 981,699. The company's 50 day moving average is $237.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $249.73.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Argus set a $260.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,965,923,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,535 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $382,085,000 after purchasing an additional 17,987 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,151,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 942,407 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $199,743,000 after purchasing an additional 95,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated NYSE: DGX is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.