Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,473 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,235 shares during the quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,979 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 38.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,852 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE DGX opened at $173.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $157.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.66 and a 12 month high of $175.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

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.