M&T Bank Corp Sells 1,015 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,015 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth approximately $1,363,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 8,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after acquiring an additional 61,469 shares during the period. &PARTNERS acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $620,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,661.05. This trade represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $155.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.29. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors 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 yield of 1.94%. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.92.

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.