Invesco Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,276,732 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 104,800 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.14% of Quest Diagnostics worth $216,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 11,100.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 224 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $179.06. 312,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,167,816. The business's 50 day moving average is $174.68 and its 200-day moving average is $171.90. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $146.17 and a 1 year high of $182.38. The company has a market capitalization of $20.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is 38.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on DGX shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $968,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,219 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,325. This represents a 22.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,436,500. The trade was a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,728,556 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

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.