Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells $103,277.96 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE DGX traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $172.44. The company had a trading volume of 727,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,902. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $157.21 and its 200-day moving average is $155.68. The stock has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.66 and a 52 week high of $172.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.69.

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.