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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction 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 $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $172.44 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.66 and a 1 year high of $172.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.68.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.80 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter worth $1,363,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 85.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $14,412,000 after buying an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after buying an additional 61,469 shares during the last quarter. 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.