Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,967 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,967 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $10,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after buying an additional 39,217 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 736,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $111,098,000 after acquiring an additional 28,333 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,144 shares of company stock worth $699,367 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.3 %

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $176.81 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $160.11 and its 200-day moving average is $157.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.88 and a fifty-two week high of $178.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.