Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Holdings Reduced by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,431 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,857 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $91,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $168.97. 1,327,130 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,053,881. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.30 and a twelve month high of $171.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.31.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.