Barclays PLC Cuts Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Barclays PLC cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 264,354 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 34,568 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.24% of Quest Diagnostics worth $39,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. The trade was a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock valued at $9,460,221 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DGX. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.20.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $174.05. 520,284 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 963,275. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.52. The company has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $133.11 and a 12-month 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.