Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by International Private Wealth Advisors LLC

International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,481,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,966,000 after buying an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Nine equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.7 %

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $157.90. The stock had a trading volume of 75,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,994. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $162.59. 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 market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.