Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $172.45, but opened at $168.73. Quest Diagnostics shares last traded at $165.14, with a volume of 121,622 shares trading hands.

Specifically, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DGX. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.0 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.53. The firm has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position 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 last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.