Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 2,930 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. decreased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,080 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,930 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.5 %

DGX opened at $165.16 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $155.44 and its 200 day moving average is $154.34. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.30 and a fifty-two week high of $167.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

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.