Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Mark E. Delaney Sells 403 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $162.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.44 and a 200 day moving average of $154.07. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.30 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The stock has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted 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 worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

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.