Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 67.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 36,511 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 75,392 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $5,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $367,180,000 after acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $164,896,000 after acquiring an additional 497,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $67,447,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.0%

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $178.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.92. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $135.47 and a 52 week high of $179.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. Equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 528 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $91,138.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,140.91. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,589 shares of company stock worth $9,251,080 in the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.73.

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.