Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Sells 313 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC lessened its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $168.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $163.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.01. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $125.09 and a 1 year high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.