Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Sells 10,399 Shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,343 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,399 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $4,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DGX. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 9,993 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 663,917 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $91,541,000 after buying an additional 17,085 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Quest Diagnostics by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $124,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $60,093.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,118.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $153.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $152.93. The company had a trading volume of 827,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,862. The company has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $119.59 and a 52-week high of $159.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.97.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

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.