Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,140 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 79,174 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,917,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,481 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC now owns 30,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,197,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 15,801 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $130.04 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $148.62. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total transaction of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,843,610.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Bank of America raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.18.

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.