Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,967 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,967 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $10,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,376,000 after buying an additional 108,224 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after buying an additional 104,495 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $176.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.88 and a 12-month high of $178.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.02. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.