Caprock Group LLC Sells 283 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Caprock Group LLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,976 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 283 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in 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. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX opened at $163.59 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.29. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $165.10.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.32%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

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.