Tidal Investments LLC Sells 4,656 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Tidal Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,375 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,656 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 51.5% in the 2nd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 362 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $153.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.80. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.15.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.