Colonial Trust Advisors Sells 782 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Colonial Trust Advisors reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 782 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $163.99 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.48 and its 200 day moving average is $159.77. The stock has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.