Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,185 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $164,896,000 after acquiring an additional 497,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $67,447,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,263 shares of company stock valued at $7,979,355. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $180.04 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $135.47 and a 1 year high of $181.91. The company has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $172.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.67.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.46%.

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.