Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells $588,729.55 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Patrick Plewman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 19th, Patrick Plewman sold 958 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $196,227.14.
• On Tuesday, February 10th, Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $1,155,048.00.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $199.37 on Monday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $157.20 and a twelve month high of $213.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $220.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Trending Headlines about Quest Diagnostics

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research expects higher Q4/near-term earnings for Quest, which supports the company’s fundamentals and could be a near-term tailwind if results and guidance confirm those estimates. Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Quest Diagnostics
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity analysts have set/updated expectations for DGX Q4 earnings (consensus estimates being monitored ahead of the print); this keeps focus on results and guide as the primary near-term catalysts. Equities Analysts Set Expectations for DGX Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are driving implied volatility higher on DGX, indicating the market is pricing a larger-than-normal move around upcoming news (increases trading costs and can amplify share moves in either direction). Implied Volatility Surging for Quest Diagnostics Stock Options
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives completed sizable stock sales this week (SVPs and an EVP sold shares at ~ $204–$206 each). Combined disclosed sales total roughly $3.07M and represented single-digit to mid-teens percentage reductions in holdings — a negative signal that likely pressured the stock given concentration of selling among insiders. SEC Filing (Form 4) — Karthik Kuppusamy

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True North Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.1% in the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 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.