Quest Partners LLC Has $1.33 Million Stock Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Quest Partners LLC lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,566 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 9,521 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:DGX traded up $0.22 on Wednesday, reaching $161.38. 763,760 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 922,531. The business has a fifty day moving average of $154.31 and a 200-day moving average of $147.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $162.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.