Natixis Decreases Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Natixis trimmed its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 52.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,179 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,989 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on DGX shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Leerink Partners raised Quest Diagnostics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.73.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX traded down $2.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $173.75. 1,033,426 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,328. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $134.50 and a 1 year high of $178.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.98. The company has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. The trade was a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.