Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) 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.

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 - Get Free Report) 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.

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%.

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.

Read Our Latest Analysis on DGX

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.

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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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