Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 866 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $171.54 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.58. The company has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.66 and a 1-year high of $176.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. 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 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.