Conning Inc. Sells 23,818 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Conning Inc. reduced its Quest Diagnostics stake by 12.8% in the third quarter, selling 23,818 shares and retaining 162,916 shares valued at approximately $38.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 88.06% of DGX.
• Quest Diagnostics reported quarterly earnings of $3.00 per share and revenue of $3.10 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 10% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $248.70. Quest also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, equal to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Conning Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 162,916 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 23,818 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up 1.2% of Conning Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Conning Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Quest Diagnostics worth $37,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, October 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $245.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.70. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $171.18 and a 52 week high of $249.73. The firm has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's fifty day moving average is $238.11 and its 200-day moving average is $211.27.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 9.53%. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 34.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,130,482.27. This represents a 37.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,714,510.56. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,880 shares of company stock valued at $8,232,534. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated NYSE: DGX is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.

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