Entropy Technologies LP Sells 2,643 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Entropy Technologies LP lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 42.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,643 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,933 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 24.7% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.31.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $146.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.31. The stock has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $150.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,900. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.79% 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.