Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 2,648 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Guggenheim Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 35.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,859 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,648 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Barclays PLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,004 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 34,708 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,024 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $8,180,000 after buying an additional 17,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:DGX traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $178.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,621,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $135.27 and a fifty-two week high of $179.16. The firm has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $169.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.07.

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.