Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 332,736 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 79,651 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $50,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,755 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $165.49 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.70 and a 200-day moving average of $158.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued 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 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.