Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Get Rating) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,133,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 116,503 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.00% of Quest Diagnostics worth $139,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,156,902 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,736,910,000 after purchasing an additional 90,362 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,223,518 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $395,494,000 after acquiring an additional 210,961 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,692,947 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,783,000 after acquiring an additional 567,417 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,514,577 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,286,000 after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,240,043 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $164,901,000 after acquiring an additional 55,298 shares during the period. 88.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.91.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 1.8 %

DGX opened at $131.53 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.15. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $120.40 and a 1-year high of $158.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.16%. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.86%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $200,109.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,577,604.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Profile

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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.