Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 2,933 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,933 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $160.55 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $153.69 and a 200-day moving average of $147.10. The stock has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $162.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

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.