Insider Selling: Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells 8,147 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares at an average price of $200 each, totaling about $1.63 million. After the transaction, he still held 13,510 shares, and the sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• The stock slipped 1.6% to $197.07 in Monday trading, with a market cap of $21.82 billion and a 52-week range of $164.65 to $213.50. Trading volume was below average.
• Quest Diagnostics recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.50 EPS on revenue of $2.90 billion, and it reaffirmed growth-focused capital returns through a $0.86 quarterly dividend and a $1 billion share repurchase program. Wall Street’s consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.6%

DGX traded down $3.22 during trading on Monday, reaching $197.07. The stock had a trading volume of 772,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 952,607. The stock's 50 day moving average is $194.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $164.65 and a one year high of $213.50.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 38.01%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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