Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.2% in Q1, now holding approximately 12.48% of the company, valued at about $2.36 billion.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Quest Diagnostics, with Price T Rowe Associates boosting its stake by 42.5% in the last quarter.
• Quest Diagnostics announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing a 1.8% yield, and previously reported a 15.2% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $2.76 billion for the last quarter.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Free Report) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,936,716 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 23,742 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.48% of Quest Diagnostics worth $2,358,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted 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 period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,196,429 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $180,493,000 after acquiring an additional 188,402 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,137,114 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $171,545,000 after acquiring an additional 23,425 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,002,379 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $151,219,000 after purchasing an additional 128,285 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.3% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 765,938 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $127,131,000 after purchasing an additional 17,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.40, for a total transaction of $1,384,230.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,784,484. The trade was a 43.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,888 shares of company stock worth $2,882,135 in the last ninety days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:DGX opened at $177.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.46. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $146.17 and a 52 week high of $182.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.20 and a 200 day moving average of $170.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Quest Diagnostics's payout ratio is 38.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGX. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

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.

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