Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $521,000 Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,803 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,632,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $362,945,000 after buying an additional 18,533 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after buying an additional 9,665 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,758,000 after acquiring an additional 129,395 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $140,472,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $152.99 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $119.59 and a 12 month high of $159.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.88.

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

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DGX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

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.