Insider Selling: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) CEO Sells 39,191 Shares of Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $164.08 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. 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’s 50 day moving average is $168.21 and its 200 day moving average is $159.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth $268,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 159.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,166,000 after purchasing an additional 16,958 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 625.8% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 27,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after buying an additional 23,832 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at about $109,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,698,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Barclays upped their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.