Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 8,627 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lowered its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,482 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,627 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 26.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at about $729,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2,080.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 872 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 63.3% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 33.8% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1 %

DGX traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.38. 763,760 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 922,531. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $162.88.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 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 Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.58.

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.