Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 181 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on DGX shares. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE DGX opened at $163.82 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 company has a market capitalization 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.84. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.