Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 276,973 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,149 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Quest Diagnostics worth $41,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted 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 worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $168.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,327,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,481. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.80. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.30 and a 12-month high of $171.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.