Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,359,986 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 104,370 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 3.01% of Quest Diagnostics worth $506,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.23.

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Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $3.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $175.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,092,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,727. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $161.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.39. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $125.09 and a one year high of $178.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total value of $90,794.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,109,826.76. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,144 shares of company stock valued at $699,367. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.