Sawyer & Company Inc Sells 165 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sawyer & Company Inc decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,014 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.92.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.67. The company had a trading volume of 480,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 920,707. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $120.10 and a 1-year high of $159.36. The company has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $152.51 and a 200-day moving average of $143.44.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

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.