Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells $103,277.96 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $172.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.66 and a fifty-two week high of $172.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.56 and a 200 day moving average of $155.93.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, research 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 declared 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. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DGX. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.