Michael E. Prevoznik Sells 604 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE DGX traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $172.44. 727,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,035,902. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $157.21 and its 200-day moving average is $155.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.66 and a twelve month high of $172.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 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.