Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 76,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 35,089 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $10,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth $140,472,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth about $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,342,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI started coverage on 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $152.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.88. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $159.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders 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 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.