Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) EVP Catherine T. Doherty Sells 824 Shares

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $142,230.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,940,814.58. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $172.86 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.73. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.66 and a 12 month high of $176.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

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, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 48.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,852 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.5% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.