Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,692 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

DGX opened at $137.55 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $128.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $148.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DGX shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet cut Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.25.

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.