Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Position Lowered by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,859 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,648 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued 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 a consensus target price of $183.73.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of DGX opened at $175.92 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $134.05 and a 1-year high of $178.87. The business's 50-day moving average price is $168.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares in the company, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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