Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Shares Sold by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 48.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,361 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 24,489 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DGX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $828,265,000 after buying an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $191,823,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $367,180,000 after purchasing an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,093,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $164,896,000 after purchasing an additional 497,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $67,447,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,127.84. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total transaction of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,499,370.58. This represents a 23.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,124 shares of company stock worth $9,341,875 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

DGX stock opened at $178.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $135.47 and a 1-year high of $179.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.82. The firm has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.52.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.73.

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.