iA Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 17.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,995 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,670 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at about $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,070,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at $46,432,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.5 %

DGX stock opened at $156.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.85. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $157.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

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.