Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.2 %

DGX opened at $154.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.04. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $119.59 and a 1-year high of $159.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

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.