Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Kintegral Advisory LLC

Kintegral Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,709 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,269 shares during the quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:DGX opened at $178.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $176.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.76. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $136.99 and a 12-month high of $182.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The business 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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

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