Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Has $2.43 Million Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,080 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,930 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 380.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 9,467 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,576 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ledyard National Bank bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of DGX traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 657,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,005,056. The firm has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.30 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $155.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.80.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors 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 is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 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 boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.