National Bank of Canada FI Trims Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 36.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,262 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 29,622 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $7,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,843 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 6,495 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,315 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 764 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,053 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at $1,797,750. The trade was a 19.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Quest Diagnostics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $3.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $160.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 290,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 938,354. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $168.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week 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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.