Winnow Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) by 85.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 944 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,385 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DGX. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
NYSE:DGX opened at $197.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.45. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $213.50.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 38.01%.
Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.58.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Quest Diagnostics
Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics
In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares in the company, valued at $25,708,601.22. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.
Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.
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