Valley National Advisers Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Valley National Advisers Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,245 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $162.77 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $167.08. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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 positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.