Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,250 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,250 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 438,977 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $68,144,000 after purchasing an additional 68,844 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $151.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $157.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during 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 firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued 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 “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.