BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Lowers Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,575 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $12,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $163.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.84 and a 200 day moving average of $148.29. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 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 firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company 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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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.