Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Cuts Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 122,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,759 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $18,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,445 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $173.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.30. The company has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.23.

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.