Sawyer & Company Inc Sells 2,168 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sawyer & Company Inc decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,846 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,168 shares during the quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $1.05 on Thursday, reaching $151.38. The stock had a trading volume of 983,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,403. The business's 50 day moving average is $156.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics 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.