Heartland Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 155,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,169 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics accounts for about 1.3% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $23,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.3 %

DGX opened at $166.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost 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 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.