Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,960,458 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,093 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Quest Diagnostics worth $2,106,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $356,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,507,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 44,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,706,000 after buying an additional 2,697 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 10,579 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,596,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $379,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $166.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.87. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $125.42 and a twelve month high of $178.87.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.