Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,102 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,236 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,441,000 after buying an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after buying an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.17.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,557 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.57, for a total value of $703,349.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,809,145.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE DGX opened at $134.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $146.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $129.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.23.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.22%.

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.