Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $70.08 Million Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 5,168.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 451,403 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 442,835 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Quest Diagnostics worth $70,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 over the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded up $3.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $160.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,725,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,085. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $162.59. The company has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.