Corient Private Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Corient Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $166.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.