Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Position Lessened by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 89.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,240 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 18,879 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $17,481,000 after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after buying an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at about $729,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,305 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,966,000 after buying an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $160.55. The stock had a trading volume of 796,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,794. The company has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $153.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.10. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $162.59.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors 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%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

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.