USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 5,986 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 142.5% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 485 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 555 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Redburn Partners set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.73.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DGX traded down $2.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $171.18. 746,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,334. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.45. The company has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.99.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is currently 40.46%.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 824 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $142,230.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,178 shares in the company, valued at $11,940,814.58. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,985 shares of company stock valued at $9,147,802. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.