Mark E. Delaney Sells 403 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $162.66 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.07. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.30 and a 1-year high of $167.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.71 EPS for the current 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 represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a 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 is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,125 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,301,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,214 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 22,676 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.