Wambolt & Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,690 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,577 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $167.35 on Tuesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.42 and a one year high of $178.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $165.45 and its 200-day moving average is $158.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DGX shares. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

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.