Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 104,370 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,359,986 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 104,370 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics makes up about 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $506,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $176.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $160.11 and a 200 day moving average of $157.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.88 and a one year high of $178.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,109,826.76. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.