UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 85,916 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 874,094 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 85,916 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $135,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,080,000 after purchasing an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,783,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,993,000 after acquiring an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 222.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 299,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,028,000 after acquiring an additional 206,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth about $22,049,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $162.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $165.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $155.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.28.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.32%.

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.