Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 22.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 536,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 155,789 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.48% of Quest Diagnostics worth $73,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $140,472,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 1st quarter valued at $46,432,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $46,342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %

DGX opened at $155.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $159.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $150.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.38%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

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

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.