USS Investment Management Ltd Trims Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,062 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,986 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,637,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $404,764,000 after purchasing an additional 73,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $342,300,000 after purchasing an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $191,823,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 now owns 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $142,230.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,940,814.58. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,985 shares of company stock worth $9,147,802 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DGX shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:DGX traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $173.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,048,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,313. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.43 and a 200-day moving average of $164.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12-month low of $135.47 and a 12-month high of $179.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 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.