Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 2,055 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,055 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after purchasing an additional 238,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’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 owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $155.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.62. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $160.95. The company has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.