Tidal Investments LLC Sells 2,532 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Tidal Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 57.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,843 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,532 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,407,000 after buying an additional 78,980 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,444 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,481,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $323,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,436 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DGX. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,263 shares of company stock valued at $7,979,355. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.83. The company had a trading volume of 742,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,826. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $135.47 and a twelve month high of $179.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's 50 day moving average is $171.34 and its 200-day moving average is $164.96.

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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.