Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik Sells 4,643 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of DGX opened at $167.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.48. The company has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

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.