Fiera Capital Corp Sells 1,700 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Fiera Capital Corp lowered its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,265 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $83,070,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter valued at $46,432,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after purchasing an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $154.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.56. The company has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.00. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $119.59 and a fifty-two week high of $159.36.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.33.

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.