Nippon Life Insurance Co. reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,130 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 806 shares during the period. Nippon Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the first quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 16.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter valued at $164,000. Financial Architects Inc increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the second quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 1,666 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Wagner Bowman Management Corp bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.06% of the company’s stock.
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE DGX) opened at 104.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.23 and a 200 day moving average of $103.54. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.69. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $79.12 and a 12 month high of $112.97.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The medical research company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.13. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.28% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post $5.69 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.29%.
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Several research firms recently weighed in on DGX. UBS AG reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $104.50 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.62.
In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.73, for a total transaction of $141,783.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,564.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 59,762 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.55, for a total transaction of $6,427,403.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,582 shares in the company, valued at $8,451,494.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,362 shares of company stock worth $6,600,758 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Quest Diagnostics Company Profile
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated is a provider of diagnostic information services. The Company operates through two businesses: Diagnostic Information Services and Diagnostic Solutions. The Diagnostic Information Services business develops and delivers diagnostic testing information and services, providing insights that empower and enable a range of customers, including patients, clinicians, hospitals, integrated delivery networks (IDNs), health plans, employers and accountable care organizations (ACOs).
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