Michael E. Prevoznik Sells 604 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This trade represents a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of DGX opened at $172.44 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.66 and a 52 week high of $172.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $157.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.93.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $164,896,000 after acquiring an additional 497,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,447,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

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.