Quadrature Capital Ltd Has $812,000 Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Quadrature Capital Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,233 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 20,796 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DGX. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 3.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,572 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

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

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $1.17 on Friday, reaching $157.35. 951,373 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 835,314. The firm has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $156.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.81. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on DGX shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.58.

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.