Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $172.45, but opened at $168.73. Quest Diagnostics shares last traded at $165.14, with a volume of 121,622 shares trading hands.

Specifically, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $789,310.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.53. 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 cap of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.