Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Director Vicky B. Gregg Sells 1,250 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $162.66 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.30 and a twelve month high of $167.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $155.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.07. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,838,000 after purchasing an additional 39,217 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 113,956 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 795,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $122,528,000 after buying an additional 77,559 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% 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.