National Bank of Canada FI Has $12.71 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 163.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,884 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,780 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.07% of Quest Diagnostics worth $12,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $158.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.11. The stock has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.08.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.