Karthik Kuppusamy Sells 2,555 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $6.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.08. 2,505,194 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,343. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.42 and a 1-year high of $178.87. The company has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 29,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after acquiring an additional 10,903 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $678,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 89,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,967,000 after purchasing an additional 11,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.