Huntington National Bank lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX – Free Report) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,697 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.9% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital boosted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 1,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics
In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.32%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have issued reports on DGX. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Baird R W raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.
Read Our Latest Report on Quest Diagnostics
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.
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