Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by abrdn plc

abrdn plc cut its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 434,181 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 27,706 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.39% of Quest Diagnostics worth $65,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.0 %

DGX traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $162.66. 499,450 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,053,881. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.17. The firm has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.30 and a 1 year high of $167.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.