Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lessened its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 97.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,757 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 76,723 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 292.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 601.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 277,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,993,000 after buying an additional 238,007 shares during the period. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after buying an additional 61,469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $161.94 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on DGX shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

Quest Diagnostics Company 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.