Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC trimmed its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $160.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $165.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.61. The stock has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. 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.