Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,372 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,375 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,125 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 8.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,261 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,965 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,479 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction 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 represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DGX. Truist Financial increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock traded up $4.74 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $169.09. 1,075,121 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,018,183. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.30 and a 52 week high of $169.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

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.