Cypress Capital Group Decreases Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Cypress Capital Group cut its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 41.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,190 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,566 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $171.79 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.29. The firm has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $124.25 and a 52-week high of $178.09. 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 released its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.