Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 1,210 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Corebridge Financial Inc. decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,210 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,447,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after acquiring an additional 104,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $14,392,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of DGX stock opened at $167.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $125.42 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The stock has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 604 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.99, for a total transaction of $103,277.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,813,096.55. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,157 shares of company stock worth $2,423,755. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.