Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,482 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,627 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after acquiring an additional 9,665 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,758,000 after purchasing an additional 129,395 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,621,000 after acquiring an additional 15,047 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 461,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $71,500,000 after purchasing an additional 13,938 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after buying an additional 442,835 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price 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. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $161.18 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $162.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.