Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $721,000 Stock Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Feb 28th, 2023

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund decreased its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 13,178 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,014,030 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,917,961,000 after buying an additional 636,301 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,223,518 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $395,494,000 after buying an additional 210,961 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,514,577 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,286,000 after buying an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,240,043 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $164,901,000 after buying an additional 55,298 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.2% in the second quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,153,772 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $153,429,000 after buying an additional 342,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DGX opened at $138.66 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.92. The firm has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.22. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $120.40 and a 52-week high of $158.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical research company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.08. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 18.84% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 2nd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $146.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $145.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy M. Ring sold 2,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $308,812.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,149 shares in the company, valued at $3,682,722.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Timothy M. Ring sold 2,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $308,812.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,682,722.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $200,109.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,577,604.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

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Quest Diagnostics, Inc engages in the provision of diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.