Quest Diagnostics Incorporated $DGX Shares Sold by Payden & Rygel

Payden & Rygel trimmed its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 32.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 62,340 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 30,400 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $14,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 2.4% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,878 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,183 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 3,382 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.72, for a total value of $2,427,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 122,423 shares in the company, valued at $29,714,510.56. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 22,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.11, for a total value of $5,513,005.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,130,482.27. This trade represents a 37.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,880 shares of company stock valued at $8,232,534. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.70.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $251.87 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.05. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a twelve month low of $171.18 and a twelve month high of $256.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.54.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 16.21%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is presently 34.26%.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a provider of diagnostic information services. The company performs laboratory testing that helps physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers diagnose, treat and monitor diseases and health conditions. Its services include routine blood and other specimen testing, pathology, molecular and genetic testing, and specialized diagnostic services.

Quest Diagnostics serves a broad range of customers, including hospitals, physician practices, health plans, employers, government agencies and individual consumers.