Karthik Kuppusamy Sells 2,555 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,797,750. This trade represents a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $164.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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 1.95%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 13.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 59.8% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 29,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,523,000 after acquiring an additional 10,903 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $678,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 89,967 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,967,000 after purchasing an additional 11,496 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on DGX shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.57.

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.