Advisors Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,970 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,456 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $6,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DGX. Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,842,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 36,441 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,657,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $1,079,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 42,641 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,620,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IVY Lane Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. IVY Lane Capital Management LLC now owns 57,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,849,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’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 value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $161.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $162.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.