AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 2,160 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,613 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,160 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.13% of Quest Diagnostics worth $24,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $164,896,000 after acquiring an additional 497,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,447,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,263 shares of company stock worth $7,979,355. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX traded down $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $173.64. 602,782 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 987,289. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $171.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $135.47 and a one year high of $179.99. The firm has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.46%.

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.