Distillate Capital Partners LLC Sells 913 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,103 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 913 shares during the quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $15,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $342,300,000 after acquiring an additional 26,214 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $191,823,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,137,114 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $171,545,000 after purchasing an additional 23,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $163.82 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. The company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,797,750. The trade was a 19.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.