Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 57.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,559 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 380.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $206,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,403 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,412,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 548.7% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,125,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $149,673,000 after acquiring an additional 952,037 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,917,961,000 after acquiring an additional 636,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after acquiring an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.0 %

DGX stock opened at $128.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.77. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 37.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DGX. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. SVB Leerink began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.