Keybank National Association OH Sells 111 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 21st, 2023

Keybank National Association OH reduced its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,428 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 15,322 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 3,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 420 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 4,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. 88.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $200,109.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,577,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. They set an “inline” rating and a $159.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.45.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:DGX opened at $143.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.95. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a one year low of $120.40 and a one year high of $158.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $140.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The medical research company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. 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 is presently 35.86%.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

(Get Rating)

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.