Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,691 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 6,832 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,345,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 113,956 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,006 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock traded down $1.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $178.71. 747,546 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 992,041. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $135.47 and a 52 week high of $182.38.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 8.81%. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 40.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,620 shares of company stock worth $7,190,045 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.