Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,360 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,531 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.9 %

DGX stock opened at $155.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $160.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGX. Barclays boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI initiated 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.