Glenmede Trust Co. NA Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Glenmede Trust Co. NA lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,152 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,673 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $15,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $48,783,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $22,049,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This trade represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $163.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.42 and a 200 day moving average of $149.00. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $123.04 and a 52 week high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) 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 business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 40.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.