Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Kintegral Advisory LLC

Kintegral Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 980.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 21,958 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

DGX stock opened at $172.44 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.66 and a 12-month high of $172.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $157.56 and its 200 day moving average is $155.93. 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 market cap of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,792 shares of company stock valued at $465,998. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.