Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Director Sells $205,712.50 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $166.82. 1,088,208 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,001,285. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $155.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.30 and a 1-year high of $168.17.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.