Ieq Capital LLC Has $1.19 Million Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Ieq Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,099 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $173.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.66 and a 52-week high of $175.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,792 shares of company stock valued at $465,998 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.23.

Quest Diagnostics 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.