Wealthfront Advisers LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,307 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,082 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $168.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $163.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.01. 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 1 year low of $125.09 and a 1 year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.