CX Institutional Sells 1,205 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

CX Institutional cut its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,572 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $155.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.