Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Sells 96 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,585 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DGX shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $154.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.65. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.38%.

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.