Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 810 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DGX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth about $140,472,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $154.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $159.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DGX shares. Evercore ISI assumed 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 objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.33.

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.