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

Olstein Capital Management L.P. lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.05% of Quest Diagnostics worth $7,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,917,961,000 after purchasing an additional 636,301 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $433,153,000 after purchasing an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,414,514 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $416,093,000 after purchasing an additional 180,889 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $0.59 during trading on Monday, reaching $130.04. The company had a trading volume of 595,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,059,127. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $119.59 and a 12-month high of $148.62. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day moving average is $127.91 and its 200 day moving average is $130.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. TheStreet downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Leerink Partnrs restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,071,584.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total transaction of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $1,913,202. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.