Kintegral Advisory LLC Reduces Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Kintegral Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 605 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $817,117,000 after purchasing an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after buying an additional 39,217 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after buying an additional 15,047 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after acquiring an additional 151,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 708,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $109,933,000 after acquiring an additional 12,565 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total value of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This trade represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.71, for a total transaction of $90,794.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,356 shares in the company, valued at $12,109,826.76. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,792 shares of company stock worth $465,998. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE DGX opened at $172.44 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.66 and a 52 week high of $172.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.23.

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.