Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Davis Selected Advisers

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers has reduced its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4%, selling 8,958 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 2.3% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have varied price targets for Quest Diagnostics, with the consensus price target now at $186.00, indicating a "Moderate Buy" rating from a mix of hold, buy, and strong buy recommendations.
• Quest Diagnostics reported a quarterly earnings increase, with an EPS of $2.62, exceeding estimates and showing a revenue growth of 15.2% year-over-year.

Davis Selected Advisers lessened its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,388,302 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 8,958 shares during the quarter. Quest Diagnostics makes up 2.3% of Davis Selected Advisers' portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Davis Selected Advisers owned 2.14% of Quest Diagnostics worth $404,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth about $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,577 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,882,135 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.6%

Quest Diagnostics stock traded up $2.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.09. The company had a trading volume of 616,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,420,387. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $146.17 and a 12-month high of $182.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $174.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.24%. Quest Diagnostics's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.