Quest Partners LLC Sells 9,521 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Partners LLC cut its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,566 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,521 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $161.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.72. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $162.88.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

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.