Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 1,607 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,631 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,607 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.09% of Quest Diagnostics worth $16,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $323,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 117.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,848 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 736,433 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $111,098,000 after purchasing an additional 28,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 5,508 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, hitting $172.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,080,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,793. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $176.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.13. The firm has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $136.99 and a 12 month high of $182.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. Analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

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.