Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 18,717 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 67.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,975 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 18,717 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth about $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $164,896,000 after purchasing an additional 497,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 23,296.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 444,996 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,293,000 after acquiring an additional 443,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $166.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,557,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,691. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $174.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.08. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $137.71 and a 12 month high of $182.38. The company has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.