Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Martin Capital Partners LLC

Martin Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 60.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,708 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,598 shares during the period. Martin Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $162.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 499,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,881. The company has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $155.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.30 and a 52-week high of $167.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.69.

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.