Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 40,188 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,419,406 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 40,188 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $214,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.57.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 3.8 %

DGX opened at $164.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $125.42 and a fifty-two week high of $178.87. 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 (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.