Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Olstein Capital Management L.P.

Olstein Capital Management L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,216 shares during the period. Quest Diagnostics makes up 1.4% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Olstein Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 22,369 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 15.4% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,764 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 192,370 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,549,000 after purchasing an additional 11,006 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 19.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,181 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 4,643 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $789,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,117 shares in the company, valued at $6,479,890. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,263 shares of company stock worth $7,979,355 over the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded up $1.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $177.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 763,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,365. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $171.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

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.