Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy Sells 8,269 Shares

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $167.40, amounting to over $1.38 million, reducing his ownership by 43.68%.
• Quest Diagnostics recently reported earnings of $2.62 EPS, surpassing estimates, with revenue increasing by 15.2% year-over-year to $2.76 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, representing a 1.9% yield with a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total value of $1,384,230.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Karthik Kuppusamy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 31st, Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of DGX stock traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.81. 1,421,070 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,363,318. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $144.87 and a 12-month high of $182.38. The stock has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $174.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 38.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $388,724,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,293,000 after acquiring an additional 443,094 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $55,587,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,698,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.