Truvestments Capital LLC Sells 86 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Truvestments Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $951,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.4% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth 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 worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $293,000. 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 firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This trade represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $166.43 on Thursday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $125.09 and a 1-year high of $178.87. 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 50 day moving average of $162.84 and a 200-day moving average of $157.94. The firm has a market cap of $18.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.