Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Atwater Malick LLC

Atwater Malick LLC cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,136 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 473 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up approximately 2.8% of Atwater Malick LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Atwater Malick LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $8,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 142.0% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 226,598 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,017,000 after acquiring an additional 6,230 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,049,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $786,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 50,823 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,026,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $151.31 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $156.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.