Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,877 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,823 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $828,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at $67,447,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This trade represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $434,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,797,750. This represents a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,620 shares of company stock valued at $7,190,045 in the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of DGX stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $179.74. 1,201,925 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 992,562. The stock has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average is $174.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.50. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $135.47 and a 52-week high of $182.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.11%. Equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut 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. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.73.

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.