UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 874,094 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 85,916 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.78% of Quest Diagnostics worth $135,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $48,783,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,049,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DGX shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE:DGX traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $161.54. 788,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 917,938. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $165.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.41. 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 (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

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.