American International Group Inc. Sells 750 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

American International Group Inc. decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,554,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $433,153,000 after buying an additional 388,162 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,476,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $479,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,114 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,613,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,517,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,001,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $243,884,000 after purchasing an additional 538,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,305,532 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $159,092,000 after purchasing an additional 182,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.5 %

DGX stock opened at $138.96 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $145.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $138.00 and its 200-day moving average is $133.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.18. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DGX. UBS Group lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $246,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.