Check Capital Management Inc. CA Sells 488 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Check Capital Management Inc. CA lowered its holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 25.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 488 shares during the quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 24,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,198,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 26.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 13.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 150,816 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,568 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 16.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 131,329 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,481,000 after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the first quarter worth about $298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of DGX opened at $156.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.19. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $162.59. The company has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total value of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,520 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,728 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.58.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.