Insider Selling: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) EVP Sells $90,794.85 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $172.44 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.00. The company has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.66 and a fifty-two week high of $172.91.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on DGX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.