Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 4,223 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 285,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,223 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Quest Diagnostics worth $44,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter worth $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DGX. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,520 shares of company stock worth $3,472,728. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $160.39 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $162.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.26. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

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.