Mackenzie Financial Corp Lowers Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 49.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,131 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,962 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $20,441,000 after buying an additional 75,315 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $1,483,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 201.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,327 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 5,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $706,312.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,843,610.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $83,378.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,071,584.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $130.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.95. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $148.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet cut Quest Diagnostics from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.18.

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.