Payden & Rygel Sells 30,400 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX

Key Points

• Payden & Rygel reduced its Quest Diagnostics stake by 32.8% in the third quarter, selling 30,400 shares and retaining 62,340 shares worth approximately $14.5 million. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Quest Diagnostics receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $248.70. Recent targets range from $245 to $262.
• Quest Diagnostics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.00 in adjusted EPS and $3.10 billion in revenue, up 10% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.86 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Payden & Rygel cut its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,340 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 30,400 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel owned about 0.06% of Quest Diagnostics worth $14,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 492.9% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 198 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $262.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, October 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.70.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, Director Gary M. Pfeiffer sold 1,203 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.00, for a total transaction of $292,329.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,241,886. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,714,510.56. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,880 shares of company stock valued at $8,232,534. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $251.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.05. The company has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.54. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $256.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Quest Diagnostics 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.