Fiduciary Management Inc. WI Trims Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,302,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 84,077 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up 1.8% of Fiduciary Management Inc. WI’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $196,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of DGX opened at $163.75 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.26. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $126.08 and a 12-month high of $178.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total value of $103,277.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,813,096.55. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.33.

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.