Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,130 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $10,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after acquiring an additional 9,665 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 461,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $71,500,000 after buying an additional 13,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $164.19 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $123.04 and a 12-month high of $164.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $154.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

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.