CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 25,237 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 347,197 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 25,237 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.31% of Quest Diagnostics worth $52,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,723.20. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total value of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. The trade was a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $172.44. The company had a trading volume of 724,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $133.11 and a one year high of $178.87. 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 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

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.