Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik Sells 528 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

DGX stock opened at $172.86 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.66 and a twelve month high of $176.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.73.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $355,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21,958 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

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.