Hollencrest Capital Management Reduces Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Hollencrest Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 42.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 250 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $38,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.4% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $224,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,265 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $293,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $166.43 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.09 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.