Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Stock Holdings Lowered by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 770,102 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 25,548 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $179,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DGX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $1,965,923,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 35.1% during the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,243,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $439,753,000 after acquiring an additional 582,797 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,085,000 after acquiring an additional 17,987 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $410,151,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 942,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $199,743,000 after acquiring an additional 95,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 22,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.02, for a total value of $5,482,482.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 71,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,844,790.98. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock worth $13,715,017 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of DGX opened at $259.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $171.18 and a 1-year high of $259.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $239.66 and a 200 day moving average of $214.06.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services, conducting laboratory tests that help physicians and other health care professionals diagnose, monitor and manage medical conditions. Its services include routine blood and other clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and specialized molecular and genetic testing.

The company serves patients, physicians, hospitals, health plans, employers and government organizations. In addition to testing performed through its laboratories and patient service centers, Quest offers services such as workplace drug testing and diagnostic support for clinical research.

Quest Diagnostics traces its roots to a clinical laboratory established in 1967 and became an independent company in 1996 after being spun off from Corning.