EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 533 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,954 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 533 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after acquiring an additional 75,315 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,517,000 after acquiring an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 135,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $18,634,000 after acquiring an additional 7,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 21,327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $137.32 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.52 and a 200-day moving average of $133.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $145.62. The firm has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $246,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.67.

Quest Diagnostics 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.