Insider Selling: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells 4,643 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $4.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $167.94. 1,596,591 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,740. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.48.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict 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. 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 1.91%. 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 presently 41.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

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.