Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells $5,293,250.56 in Stock

Key Points

• Michael Prevoznik, Senior Vice President of Quest Diagnostics, sold 28,288 shares for approximately $5.29 million, reducing his ownership by 42.60%.
• The company reported $2.62 earnings per share in its latest earnings announcement, exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue reaching $2.76 billion.
• Quest Diagnostics has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, scheduled for payment on October 20th, demonstrating a 1.7% yield and a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 28,288 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $5,293,250.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,132,453.04. The trade was a 42.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $185.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 657,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,108,102. The business's 50 day moving average price is $177.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.27. The company has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $146.17 and a fifty-two week high of $187.96.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 38.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $388,724,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $238,122,000. M&G PLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 256.5% in the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,072,721 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $193,090,000 after acquiring an additional 771,824 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,012,534,000 after acquiring an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,293,000 after acquiring an additional 443,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $194.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Evercore ISI set a $185.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.

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